SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tesla is shifting all of its sales from stores to the internet, saying the move is needed to cut costs so it can sell the mass-market Model 3 for a starting price of $35,000.
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and TOM KRISHER
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tesla is shifting all of its sales from stores to the internet, saying the move is needed to cut costs so it can sell the mass-market Model 3 for a starting price of $35,000.
The Palo Alto, California, company announced the change Thursday and said it’s now taking orders for the $35,000 car, which CEO Elon Musk has said is essential to Tesla’s survival.
“It’s 2019,” Musk told reporters. “People want to buy online.”
Musk also backed off of earlier guidance that the company would be profitable in all future quarters. Because of the moves, it will lose money in the first quarter and “likely” be profitable in the second, he said.
