Elon Musk at Tesla shareholders' meeting promises 400-mile car

Elon Musk, President and CEO of Tesla, spoke on Tuesday at the company's shareholders meeting in Mountain View, Calif., And told investors: "We will soon have a car from A range of 400 miles ".

He also said that next year, Tesla drivers will be able to use the features of self – driving in their vehicles without intervention.

Musk said: "Every car manufactured since October 2016 is capable of total autonomy with the replacement of the computer alone." He also added: "We will still need regulatory approval, but the capacity will be there.This significantly increases the value of the car.In fact, I think it is financially crazy to have a car. buy anything except an electric car that goes to autonomy. "

(It would be unprecedented for a car to take value in the short term.It is rare for a car to become a collector's choice and gain value over a longer period.)

Tesla's technical director and co-founder, JB Straubel, who has rarely been seen in public in recent days, briefly joined Musk on stage at the meeting to thank the teams who built the battery technology and the gigantic power plant. American batteries of the company, the Gigafactory. Tesla owns and jointly operates this plant with Panasonic, its leading supplier of battery cells for its vehicles.

Musk and Straubel have also shown the image of a green field in Europe, joking that it would one day be their Gigafactory in Europe. The company aims to create a car factory on every continent, said Musk. By the end of this year, they intend to determine and announce the location of another battery and car plant in Europe.

The members of the executive committee were joined by Drew Baglino, who has been with Tesla for 14 years and leads battery, powertrain and solar roof projects.

The electric vehicle and renewable energy company is ready to produce and deliver 90,000 to 100,000 cars to its customers by the end of the quarter, in line with its previous forecasts, which have been reiterated by the leaders , including Musk and Financial Director Zach Kirkhorn, throughout the period. .

Tesla is also trying to manufacture and sell more cars with fewer employees in the United States after laying off hundreds of people as part of cost-cutting measures earlier this year. At the same time, it is expanding its activities internationally with the construction of a new battery plant and a new car badembly called Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.

Musk also told shareholders that they should expect an unveiling of the Tesla pickup truck by the end of summer 2019 and the production of its largest semi – electric truck. here at the end of 2020.

Outside the location of the Shareholders' Meeting, the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., Tesla presented prototypes of its upcoming Roadster, Semi and Model Y, prompting fans and shareholders to post snapshots of social networks.

This annual meeting is the first for Tesla since Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Walgreens Boots Alliance leader Kathleen Wilson-Thompson joined the company's board of directors at the end of the year. last year. (Ellison was present on Tuesday.)

Asked about Tesla's financial outlook for 2019, Musk said, "Profitability is always a challenge if you're a fast growing company." He said Tesla was about to develop its entire "fleet" 60% to 80% this year, adding, "It's hard to be profitable with this level of growth." He added that the company could generate positive cash flow while growing at this rate.

Tesla's stock has risen slightly in recent days after favorable badyst reports and electric vehicle sales forecasts from Morgan Stanley and IHS Markit, respectively. Tesla shares closed Tuesday at $ 217.10, down about 36% from the same period last year, while they were close to $ 342.