It sounds like the initial public offering of electric-car maker Tesla is already being greeted with skepticism, but some of the fine print about its plans may give potential investors even greater cause for concern.
"We do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster," the company wrote in the filing. The Roadster is built by Lotus, so presumably Tesla is talking about changes at the British automaker's factory in Hethel, England, but we can't confirm that because Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes declined to comment.
That will leave the fledging automaker putting all its marbles on getting its electric sedan, the Model S, out the door in 2012. Tesla, of all companies, should know something about the delays and unexpected headaches that come with launching a product. The roadster went through an obstacle course of trouble before it came out. Thus, 2012 could become 2013 or 2014 -- with no revenue coming in the door. Again, from Autopia:
"As a result, we anticipate that we may generate limited, if any, revenue from selling electric vehicles after 2011 until the launch of the planned Model S," the company says in the SEC filing. That may not be a problem if S production starts on plan and goes off without a hitch, but if Tesla hits any snags, things could get ugly fast — a point it concedes in the filing.
"The launch of the Model S could be delayed for a number of reasons and any such delays may be significant and would extend the period in which we would generate limited, if any, revenues from sales of our electric vehicles."
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Tesla obtained a $465 million loan from the Energy Department to build the Model S and is shopping for factory space in Southern California. The only ones happy about all of this: The 1,000 or so Tesla Roadster owners. Suddenly, their collectible is destined to become even more rare.
