By Kukil Bora -
Tesla Motors' CEO Elon Musk reportedly said Tuesday that the company is planning to increase production of its electric cars to “at least a few million” by 2025 from fewer than 40,000 units in 2014.
Speaking at the Detroit auto show on Tuesday, Musk said that Tesla’s sales in China were weak in the fourth quarter of 2014, and that the company may not be profitable until 2020. The company’s $35,000 Tesla Model 3 electric car will be critical in reaching a goal of selling 500,000 vehicles a year over the next five years, Reuters reported.
If Tesla succeeds in hitting the target of producing a few million electric cars by 2025, the Palo Alto, California-based automaker would be directly competing with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which sold 2 million vehicles last year in the U.S., according to Reuters.
In addition, Musk also said that Tesla’s Model X sport utility vehicle will be launched this summer, while the lower-priced Model 3 is expected to be released in 2017.
Meanwhile, General Motors is also planning to launch a new electric car, called the “Chevrolet Bolt,” which is likely to the hit the market in 2017. The car will cost $30,000 and would be capable of driving up to 200 miles on single charge, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
However, Musk said that he does not consider Chevrolet Bolt as a potential competitor to Tesla's Model 3. “It's not going to affect us if someone builds a few hundred thousand vehicles,” Reuters quoted Musk as saying, referring to the Bolt. But “I'd be pleased to see other manufacturers make electric cars.”