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Elon Musk has a secret weapon to increase Model S demand

Tesla Motors has a bit of a reputation for not being as transparent as some would like. So, when the end of the fiscal quarter arrives, there's always a lot of interest in the financial statements the company is obligated to release. But the info and insights don't just flow from its official 8K filing. The automaker also holds a conference call that sees CEO Elon Musk, CTO JB Straubel and Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja taking questions from assorted financial analysts for an hour or so. It's here that we often learn interesting details behind the numbers, as well as hints of what's to come, sandwiched between quotable quotes from Musk. This week's call, following the release of 2014 fourth quarter financial results, certainly didn't disappoint. When asked by a Barclay's representative how much money Tesla will put towards capital expenditures over the next several years, for example, the irrepressible Musk said the company was "going to spend staggering amounts." This, of course, makes sense when you consider the massive amount of work the outfit has already bit off and has begun chewing. There's the production preparation for the Model X, a multi-billion dollar battery "gigafactory" under construction, the growing of its store and service center infrastructure along with its Supercharger network, and Model 3 development. Still, the gleeful tone, when discussing the spending of billions of dollars, seems contrary to what one might expect during such a call. But, it's also part of what keeps these teleconferences from being a total snooze fest. That, and the unexpected mention of new products and candid discussion of challenges. Speaking of challenges, the situation in China was probably the biggest thing on most minds of company followers and was addressed early. Tesla's sales have been surprisingly lackluster there and Musk was quick to admit that, "we didn't execute on China super well last year" relaying how its sales team was actually telling potential customers it might be difficult for them to charge. He balanced out the bad news with the consolation that even if it had of delivered more in the territory, it wouldn't have affected this financial statement much, since the Model S is production-constrained, and any slack in one market is made up by demand in others. He did, though, make it clear that he expects things in the People's Republic to improve and to "be in good shape by the end of the year." What else did we learn from the call?

Tesla Model S successfully hacked by Zhejiang University team

The $10,000 prize for successfully hacking a Tesla Model S has been claimed. A team from Zhejiang University in China claimed victory at the Symposium on Security for Asia Network (SyScan360) event in Beijing by exploiting a "flow design flaw," whatever that means, to gain access to vital systems including the door locks, horn and window controls, while the vehicle was moving.
The group that was able to hack a Tesla reported its findings to the electric car automaker, so this security breach will hopefully be fixed in short order. The event was welcomed by Tesla, which said it "[supported] the idea of providing an environment in which responsible security researchers can help identify potential vulnerabilities."
Last year, potential security pitfalls of high-tech electric and hybrid cars came to light when the US Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (better known as DARPA) successfully hacked into hybrids from Ford and Toyota. Questions about the security of the Tesla Model S have been raised before. If you're wondering why all this might be such a big deal, we suggest you watch this.

Tesla facilitating Chinese trade-ins for Model S buyers

When many people buy a new vehicle in the US, it's quite common to trade in an older model at the same time. Not only does the decision knock a little money off the purchase, but there's often not enough room for an extra car taking up room in the driveway. Now, Tesla is extending that option to some of its buyers in China in hopes that the added convenience boosts sales. According to Bloomberg, Tesla is working with used car traders in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou to help buyers dump their old vehicles. That value is then deducted from the price of the customer's new Model S. Tesla is still a rather new entrant into China but seems to be performing well. The company began selling the Model S there in April, and it only took a few months to deliver the first 1,000 vehicles. It didn't hurt that the initial pricing was lower than expected, the first 3,000 buyers in Shanghai have been eligible for a free license place, a roughly $15,000 value. According to Bloomberg, the electric automaker has opened nine stores and service locations in six Chinese cities, so far. The business is also considering opening a factory there at some point in the future. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty Images Green Tesla Car Buying Car Dealers Electric Sedan trade-in