美国国家公共电台 NPR Tesla's Challenge: Leaving Behind The Lap Of Luxury

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Tesla sells electric cars - expensive electric cars - and it's finally making money doing that. Yesterday Tesla announced its second quarterly profit in a row, which might be great for the company if CEO Elon Musk¹ wanted to make money just selling expensive cars. He doesn't. NPR's Camila Domonoske explains.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE²: Musk called it his secret master plan. The secret part is a joke. He talked about it all the time. But the master plan, he was serious about. Step one was selling a super-fancy electric sports car, the $100,000 Roadster. Step two was using that money to make cheaper and cheaper cars. Musk spoke³ directly to his customers at the unveiling of the Roadster back in 2006. The video was posted by Netscape and Autoblog.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELON MUSK: Anyone who's considering buying this car is - you know, you're not just buying a sports car. You're actually helping⁵ pay for development of the mass-market vehicles.

DOMONOSKE: Cheap electric cars - and a lot of them - that would sell so well, it would push all carmakers toward going electric. That was always Musk's goal because what he really wanted was to save the world. The master plan was to fight climate change. Here's Musk at the unveiling of the Model X in 2012.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MUSK: The world desperately⁶ needs sustainable transport. If we don't solve this problem this century, we are fracked.

DOMONOSKE: So that was the vision. But making mass-market electric cars is really hard. Tesla is producing a less-expensive car, the Model 3. But the process of ramping⁷ up production was painful, and the Model 3 is still only sold for way more than the target of $35,000. Brian Moody⁸ is the executive editor for Autotrader. He thinks Tesla should just admit that it's a premium⁹ carmaker.

BRIAN MOODY: We can just be honest and call them luxury cars. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

DOMONOSKE: Tesla has shown it can turn a profit off cars that cost $50,000 and up.

MOODY: They've created something great that people love. Good. Congratulations. You should enjoy your success and keep doing more of that.

DOMONOSKE: Tesla is not interested in doing more of that. The company recently announced it's laying off thousands of people.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MUSK: We have to be relentless¹⁰ about costs in order to make affordable¹¹ cars and not go bankrupt. That's what our headcount reduction is about.

DOMONOSKE: That was Musk on a call with investors¹² yesterday. And Tesla's building a new factory in Shanghai in addition to its factory in Fremont, Calif., again, to help make that affordable car. We should note this is not only about fighting climate change.

JESSICA CALDWELL: At the end of the day, Tesla is a for-profit company, right? It's not a nonprofit.

DOMONOSKE: Jessica Caldwell is the executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds. She says, yes, the company is idealistic.

CALDWELL: Elon Musk and Tesla having this grander vision for humanity and civilization is certainly different than the way that other auto⁴ companies, you know, run their business day to day.

DOMONOSKE: But making cheaper cars would also be good business. It means a bigger pool of potential customers. And if it's going to happen, it's got to be soon, she says.

CALDWELL: Tesla's up against the wall. There are some real business pressures.

DOMONOSKE: Tesla has said for years that the cheap car was just around the corner. But it never actually turned that corner. Now traditional automakers are investing serious money in bringing new electric cars to market and would-be Tesla buyers are waiting to see if the company can keep its promises.

MARK VIDAURRI: Instead of getting an Infiniti, I would rather get a Tesla. You know what I'm saying?

DOMONOSKE: Mark Vidaurri (ph) in San Antonio, Texas, test drove a Model 3 a few weeks ago. He loved it, but he felt let down by the fact that the price is still much higher than $35,000.

VIDAURRI: I mean, even if you were to go with all the cheapest options, you're looking at, like, $600 to $800 a month. With a monthly payment like that, you know, in everyday life, with me and my wife working - I mean, we work full-time¹³ jobs - it's just not in the cards.

DOMONOSKE: He hopes that cheaper car is coming.

VIDAURRI: I believe advancements¹⁴ in technology shouldn't be a luxury. It should be something that is discovered and being able to distribute across every class of citizen.

DOMONOSKE: Including people like Vidaurri, who dreams of a Model 3 in his driveway someday. Camila Domonoske, NPR News.

1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

8 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

9 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

10 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

12 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

14 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网