Tesla To Add Compact SUV To Range By 2016

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk divulged the company’s future product plans in an interview with CNBC yesterday.
“We aspire to bring into production a sedan that’s about half the price of the Model S, and then shortly thereafter a small SUV.” Musk told the channel about a third and fourth model which are set to join the electric carmaker’s range as early as 2016.

Following hot on the heels of a more affordable sedan — a car expected to undercut the range topping Model S by as much as 50 percent — the electric vehicle maker will also unveil a compact SUV, roughly the size of Audi’s Q5.

“In about three to four years, that’s when we aspire to bring into production a sedan that’s about half the price of the Model S, and then shortly thereafter a small SUV as well,” Musk told CNBC. “These should be quite affordable. The price would be on the order of $35,000.”

After having paid back the loan awarded the company by the US Department of Energy in 2010 nine years early, the fledging carmaker is on the upswing, nearly tripling its stock value this year alone. The Model X crossover SUV will go into production next year, joining the Model S sedan.