Here's what Tesla's larger automotive market play means (TSLA)

pulse

May 16, 2017 9:51 AM

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shed new light on the company’s future business plans via a series of tweets late last week, revealing that the company is planning to expand into new segments of the automotive market — including pickup trucks and tractor-trailers.

Global Tesla Deliveries 2017

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Tesla is tackling the logistics space. Musk announced that Tesla will unveil an electric 18-wheeler this September.

The vehicle was outlined last summer, but it's unknown whether it will include the company's semi-autonomous Autopilot system or have the hardware necessary for full autonomy, which all new Model S and Model X vehicles currently do. However, if it did include autonomous technologies, it would be competing directly with Uber-owned Otto, which is also angling to provide self-driving semi-trucks. Overall, more and more companies are testing self-driving trucking technologies, though no business model or strategy has emerged yet as the favorite for companies in space.

Musk is eyeing a broader range of consumer vehicles as well. Musk said the final design of the Model 3 would be released this July, and that the company would be unveiling a pickup truck for consumers within the next 18 to 24 months. The Model 3, which the automaker has received hundreds of thousands of pre-orders for, will be priced at $35,000. This is significantly lower than the Model S and X which start at $68,000 and $85,500, respectively — while at the same time over twice the price of a $18,000 Honda Civic.

The Model 3 is especially critical to Tesla's potential plans for a future ridesharing network — the vehicle's low price should mean there are more on the road and therefore more available to give people rides. Meanwhile, it's still unknown what the pickup truck will cost and when the automaker might start accepting pre-orders for the vehicle. Additionally, the company is targeting a market that has been dominated by legacy American automakers like GM and Ford for decades, so eating into those companies' market share could be difficult.

These plans align Tesla's lineup with many other automakers. Volvo and Mercedes, for example, manufacture luxury, electric, mass market, and B2B vehicles. This is good for both the Tesla's brand, since it will have more vehicles on the road for consumers to see, and for the company's bottom line, since they are going after more markets. About 17 million commercial and consumer vehicles were sold in the US in 2016, so Tesla is betting it can gain a share of this large market. While the company still needs to successfully execute these plans, which is no small task, it appears to be on the path toward a substantially larger footprint in the automotive industry.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

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