Elon Musk hints at Tesla hatchback mannequin for Europe

LONDON — Tesla Chief Government Elon Musk has prompt that his agency might launch a brand new hatchback mannequin in Europe sooner or later.

Tesla at present sells two SUVs within the Mannequin Y and Mannequin X, in addition to the Mannequin S government saloon and the Mannequin 3 sedan. It does not, nonetheless, promote any automobiles which are related in measurement to say a Volkswagen Golf, a Ford Fiesta, or a Mini Cooper.

“Probably in Europe it might make sense to do, I assume, a compact automobile, maybe a hatchback or one thing like that,” Musk mentioned Tuesday at a digital convention on batteries hosted by the German authorities, in response to Reuters.

“Within the U.S., the vehicles are usually greater for private style causes,” he mentioned. “In Europe, (they) are usually smaller,” added Musk, who leapfrogged Microsoft founder Invoice Gates to grow to be the world’s second-richest individual this week.

Musk additionally informed the convention how he had skilled some issues parking his Mannequin X, which is five-meters lengthy, within the German capital of Berlin. “I used to be driving a Mannequin X round Berlin and we had fairly a little bit of bother discovering a parking area the place we might match,” he mentioned.

Tesla additionally plans to promote a “Cybertruck” car worldwide within the subsequent two years. The electrical carmaker says it should have the the “utility of a truck with sports activities automobile efficiency.”

Tesla’s market cap hit $500 billion for the primary time on Tuesday after its inventory worth surpassed $527.48 per share.

The corporate has been on a tear this yr, with its inventory worth rising greater than fivefold. Whereas the mark is basically symbolic, it underscores Musk’s push for progress. Tesla grew to become the primary $100 billion publicly-listed U.S. carmaker in January.

— CNBC’s Jessica Bursztynsky contributed to this text.