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Tesla curbs forecast due to Model S issues, losses total $864.9M

It ain't easy creating a brand-new automaker from scratch. The fact that Elon Musk and Tesla have actually been able to bring not one, but two cars to market is in itself quite impressive. That said, the road has not been without its bumps, and Tesla is feeling some of the setbacks that come with being a fledgling automaker.
To that end, Tesla has revealed that it expects $400 million to $440 million in full-year revenue, or roughly $160 million less than its prior 2012 revenue forecasts. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday, the electric carmaker said "We have methodically increased our Model S production at a slower rate than we had earlier anticipated," leading to the company figuring they'll fall short of the $560 million to $600 million they originally forecasted. Tesla also revealed a net cumulative loss of $864.9 million through June 30 of this year - Tesla has yet to break even as an automaking entity, but it remains something of a startup, so the fact that it has lost money to this point shouldn't be a major surprise - building cars is expensive, and learning how to do so is even more expensive. Following the disclosure, Tesla shares fell about 8.5 percent this morning in trading.
Tesla cites delays in suppliers for its Model S production shortcomings. The California automaker says it is working with suppliers to speed up deliveries and internally, it is adding shifts and automation to its manufacturing processes. With little more than half of the 5,000-vehicle target expected to be built by year's end, Tesla says it is four to five weeks behind its delivery goals.

100 Tesla Model S hatchbacks to get NCE convertible conversions

The folks Newport Convertible Engineering have made a specialty out of taking coupes and sedans and converting them into convertibles. Sometimes this results in absolutely weird creations like a Range Rover droptop, but its latest project is significantly greener. The company has developed hard and soft top conversions for the Tesla Model S, and they are already quite popular too. An investor in China has ordered 100 of them.
NCE has been working on creating the two versions of the convertible Model S for the last six months, and it involves a lot more than just cutting the roof off. "Some sections needed restructured," said Al Zadeh, the company's CEO, to Autoblog about the changes made to maintain rigidity. A soft-top conversion costs $29,000 and a hard-top $49,000. In addition to these prices, buyers must supply a donor vehicle. Production is due to start in July in California, Dubai, and Barcelona, Spain.
This might be just the beginning for NCE's convertible Model S. Zadeh says that the company has made an inquiry with Tesla about whether it could supply 5,000 cars for conversion to satisfy predicted demand. He will release more details on the project "when the time is right." Scroll down for NCE's official announcement of the 100-car order.

Hertz adds Tesla Model S to Dream Cars fleet

The Tesla Model S is slowly infiltrating our rental car and chauffeured lives, having already gone to Las Vegas with Zappos as a taxi and San Francisco with car-sharing service Get Around. Now a lot more people will have the chance to get into one with its inclusion in the Hertz Dream Cars fleet, joining 19 petrol-powered rockets like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Mercedes SLS AMG and SRT Viper. What's more, in case you missed it when it was new, the Tesla Roadster will join its sibling in the Dream Cars corral.
Although the Dream Cars are available in 35 markets, the Teslas will only come to two: San Francisco and Los Angeles airports. The rental Model S gets the 85-kWh battery with a range of 265 miles, and appears to be the P85 Performance model since Hertz lists a 0-to-60 mile per hour time of 4.2 seconds.
You can read more about it in the press release below, and if your vacation plans include California, this could give you a chance to get into a Model S faster than someone who buys one.