In one of the most recent CNBC interviews, the former General Motors executive Bob Lutz was asked about Tesla and… we finally heard something encouraging from Mr. Lutz.
Bob Lutz appreciates Tesla’s sales results (112,000 deliveries in Q4) and Elon Musk’s focus on business.
“Former General Motors executive Bob Lutz, a long-time critic of Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, said Wednesday that he is now encouraged by the electric vehicle manufacturer.
We noted several Bob Lutz points on Tesla, although some are still quirky:
- achieved a sort of a volume breakthrough
- Tesla is selling a lot of Model 3
- Model 3 is doing extremely well in Europe
- Model 3 is still not affordable ($33,000), but when sold at $55,000-$60,000 as BMW 3-series competitor can achieve high margins, like the original Model S
- Elon Musk reduced personnel and reduced unnecessary expenditures to cut costs and make Tesla profitable
- There is less talk, less bluster, less of “I’m going to do this in six months” from Elon Musk and more focus on the business, on the product and on cost control
- Tesla is finally being run like a normal business
Well… it’s great to see that his rhetoric has slowly changed.