Did you buy a Tesla Model S in late 2013? No? Then you must have been the only person who didn't. At a Detroit Auto Show press conference, a Tesla VP announced that the electric automaker surged past sales expectations in the fourth quarter of 2013, sending their stock prices up, up and away.
Reuters reports that Tesla vice president of global sales and service Jerome Guillen — in addition to breaking our hearts by scoffing at the idea of a Tesla pickup truck — said Tuesday that the company moved 6,900 Model S sedans in the fourth quarter. Their original sales predictions were under 6,000.
News of the sales boom caused Tesla's stock to shoot up nearly 16 percent. They closed at $161 a share on Tuesday.
From the Reuters report:
"We look forward to 2014 with anticipation," Guillen told a news conference at the show. "On the sales and service side, of which I'm responsible, it's reckless growth." He later said that he misspoke and meant to say "relentless growth."
They're selling so many cars Guillen doesn't even have time to figure out which words he wants to use. HE'S TOO BUSY SELLING TESLAS, PEOPLE.
And it's likely that this boom will only continue as the company plans to debut its Model X crossover later this year. As analysts who spoke to Reuters noted, the company and its customers seem to be shrugging off news of the various Tesla-related fires, something that potentially could have hammered other automakers. (It's hard to write about Tesla's sales without using terms like "on fire" or "explosive growth.)
Meanwhile, other future Tesla plans include a family of compact electric vehicles they would like to debut by 2017; at Detroit today they reaffirmed their plans to do so without outside help.
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