CEO Elon Musk said Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) would launch its Roadster next year. He first spoke about its introduction five years ago. According to The Wall Street Journal, Tesla’s current lineup has been in place since 2008 (others would argue Tesla brought out models more recently), so there have been worries that the lack of a new vehicle might hurt sales. The exception is its Cybertruck, but as a pickup, it does fall into the “car” category.
Tesla stock is down 18% this year, compared to a 6% increase in the S&P 500. Shares of legacy car company Toyota are 29% higher. The standard argument about the differences in these prices is that several high hurdles have hit the electric vehicle (EV) market. (Check out the bull, base, and bear forecasts for where Tesla stock will be by 2030.)
Among the hurdles is that EV prices tend to be higher than those of gasoline-powered cars and hybrids. This is usually true for the most expensive Teslas and cars from EV companies Lucid and Rivian. Prices of EVs from some legacy manufacturers like Ford have also been high. The base price of the F-150 Lightning is $50,000. The base price of the gasoline-powered F-150 is less than $35,000.
Tesla does have a low-priced model. Its top-selling Model 3 has a base price of $36,000.
The Roadster may be the fastest car in the world, according to Musk, with a zero to 60 pace of under one second. It is likely to be a high-end car with a high-end price. This may attract people curious about the latest addition to the Tesla brand, but it will not solve the industry’s price problem.
Tesla still has to overcome the reluctance of consumers to buy EVs due to perceived slow charging speeds, a low number of chargers geographically, and ranges that are less than for many gasoline-powered cars.
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