Tesla Model 3 Critic Flips View, Sees Sedan Being Profitable
Sandy Munro says “a lot of crow is being eaten around here,” after his firm’s teardown finds potential for the car to make money
The rollout of Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 electric sedan over the last year was plagued by delays and doubts over whether it could ever be profitable. Now, one of car’s most outspoken early critics has changed his view.
Munro & Associates, a small Detroit-area firm that disassembles new cars and analyzes them down to the nuts and bolts, came out in April with damning findings that the Model 3 was poorly built and—even worse for Tesla’s long-term outlook—costly to build. On that second point, at least, founder Sandy Munro has reversed course. Upon further analysis, his firm has found that the sedan can be profitable. It may even have the potential to make a 30 percent margin, which would be unmatched by any other other battery-powered vehicle.
“A lot of crow is being eaten around here,” Munro said in an interview posted Monday by “Autoline After Hours,” a show streamed weekly by a Metro Detroit broadcaster. “No electric car is getting 30 percent. Nobody.”