Photo: YouTube screenshot
Tesla's results for last year's fourth quarter were a mixed bag: on the one hand, it had record revenues; on the other, it also registered the worst deficit in its entire (although quite short) history.
Elon Musk's company is not out to make a profit yet. I mean, it is, obviously, but as soon as it gets its hands on some money, it immediately invests it in something else. Whether it's a humongous battery factory or the world's first electric semi truck, it always finds some good use for its cash.
This strategy has allowed Tesla to become a leader in its segment but also drawn a lot of criticism, with people saying it runs on money borrowed from its investors and shareholders. These voices, however, did nothing to take Tesla off its track, so expect to see more of the same until the Model 3 proves to be the solid cash source it was intended to be.
To that extent, after launching with the long-range version of the electric sedan (310 miles, in case anyone forgot), Tesla was supposed to begin rolling out the promised $35,000 base model (220 miles) early this year. But since it's kind of strapped on cash, it decided to push back these deliveries to (very) late 2018 for the U.S.A. and (not so) early 2019 for the rest of the world.
In the meantime, not only will it continue to sell the long-range single motor version, but evidence showed the dual motor configuration was also just around the corner. The latter is particularly of interest to anyone because it should significantly improve the sedan's acceleration figures, and we all know how closely knit Teslas and drag races are.
Tesla registered a small number of dual motor VINs last month, and it would appear it added a few this month as well. Despite that, the cars hadn't been spotted so far, suggesting they might be kept primarily for corporate use at this point.
Yesterday, Ryan McCaffrey approached a red Model 3 parked somewhere in San Francisco, pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of its VIN. According to the information leaked earlier, the number placed it among those few all-wheel-drive Model 3s, making this the first public spotting.
Ryan posted his finding on Twitter with a short text: "I spotted #8370 in the wild this weekend in San Francisco. It's red with 19" Sport wheels, if you're curious. (smiley face)" Well, yes, we are, so a picture of the actual car would have been nice, but we guess there's nothing to tell them apart on the outside, so the description will do.
Tesla says we can expect the first AWD Model 3 deliveries to start this spring, which means we've just officially entered the dual motor Model 3 season. We sincerely hope that we won't have to wait too long for a drag race or at least a timed 0-60 mph run this time.
This strategy has allowed Tesla to become a leader in its segment but also drawn a lot of criticism, with people saying it runs on money borrowed from its investors and shareholders. These voices, however, did nothing to take Tesla off its track, so expect to see more of the same until the Model 3 proves to be the solid cash source it was intended to be.
To that extent, after launching with the long-range version of the electric sedan (310 miles, in case anyone forgot), Tesla was supposed to begin rolling out the promised $35,000 base model (220 miles) early this year. But since it's kind of strapped on cash, it decided to push back these deliveries to (very) late 2018 for the U.S.A. and (not so) early 2019 for the rest of the world.
In the meantime, not only will it continue to sell the long-range single motor version, but evidence showed the dual motor configuration was also just around the corner. The latter is particularly of interest to anyone because it should significantly improve the sedan's acceleration figures, and we all know how closely knit Teslas and drag races are.
Tesla registered a small number of dual motor VINs last month, and it would appear it added a few this month as well. Despite that, the cars hadn't been spotted so far, suggesting they might be kept primarily for corporate use at this point.
Yesterday, Ryan McCaffrey approached a red Model 3 parked somewhere in San Francisco, pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of its VIN. According to the information leaked earlier, the number placed it among those few all-wheel-drive Model 3s, making this the first public spotting.
Ryan posted his finding on Twitter with a short text: "I spotted #8370 in the wild this weekend in San Francisco. It's red with 19" Sport wheels, if you're curious. (smiley face)" Well, yes, we are, so a picture of the actual car would have been nice, but we guess there's nothing to tell them apart on the outside, so the description will do.
Tesla says we can expect the first AWD Model 3 deliveries to start this spring, which means we've just officially entered the dual motor Model 3 season. We sincerely hope that we won't have to wait too long for a drag race or at least a timed 0-60 mph run this time.
I spotted #8370 in the wild this weekend in San Francisco. It's red with 19" Sport wheels, if you're curious. pic.twitter.com/BME2A4UCwF
— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) February 28, 2018
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