Tesla Motors Inc., which has almost tripled in market value this year, can make its electric cars efficiently enough to achieve a gross profit margin approaching Porsche SE’s, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said.
Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California, has set a goal of attaining a 25 percent gross margin this year, Musk told investors yesterday at the company’s annual meeting. Capital expenditures to expand Model S production and begin assembling the electric Model X sport-utility vehicle next year will hold back Tesla’s profitability, compared with that of Stuttgart, Germany-based Porsche, he said.
