Interview with Elon Musk of Tesla Motor Inc’s Future in France

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is one of the fastest growing automobile companies worth over $20 billion. Visionary Elon Musk believes all other forms of automobiles will become extinct and electric cars will become the future in an age where our resources are running out. Could Elon Musk, serial entrepreneur, be right and hit the next home run? With earnings coming out soon, investors are worried whether to invest before the stock price goes up a lot, or after once the volatility settles down. We did an exclusive interview with Elon Musk about his expansion plans in France and found some interesting insight.

Stocks.org: With Tesla, what is your ambition to remain a niche manufacturer or engage in mass production?

Elon Musk: The first objective is to accelerate the transition to a sustainable transport system and for that we will make as many electric cars as possible (after the sedan, an SUV out next year, followed by a small model largest public within four years. Ed). If we want a decent future, we need almost all cars are electric. We can not continue to burn oil, to saturate the atmosphere of CO2 and acidifying oceans. Anyway, we’re about to run out of oil, the resource is exhausted, we have no choice.

Stocks.org: You do not believe in other technologies, such as hybrid and research to make very simple heat engines?
Elon Musk: They only delay the inevitable, without eliminating the need for transition I mentioned. It’s very nice to have cleaner cars and better than driving a hybrid car with a conventional motor vehicle, but it will not change the situation sooner or later the oil will disappear!

Stocks.org: You installed Tesla in Silicon Valley rather than Detroit, the birthplace of the American automobile. Is it because you want to embody the struggle of the “new world” against the “old”?
Elon Musk: Not at all (laughs)! In fact it is simple, I love living in California even if here, growing a business is expensive. With Tesla, we wanted to create a kind of synthesis. If you look at how the numbers are composed of engineering and design departments, you will see one third comes from the traditional automotive industry, one-third of high tech companies in Silicon Valley and one third of the university where we hire people full of energy and creativity.

Stocks.org: After the United States you plan to push your expansion in Asia, Australia, Europe, what is the place of France in your device?
Elon Musk: This is a market that has great potential for the electric car, due to the high percentage of electricity generated from nuclear power. In many countries it is coal or natural gas dominate, it will be set at one time or another the problem of energy to make it more durable. From this point of view, France is already quite advanced.

Stocks.org: You build yourself infrastructure charging batteries in the country where you are staking, why?
Elon Musk: We do it because nobody else cares! But to grow the market for electric cars, motorists must be able to travel long distances, they must have the freedom to go wherever they want. We could not wait until the end of endless discussions before embarking.

Stocks.org: You may enter into partnership agreements to develop the network?
Elon Musk: At the moment we do everything ourselves. But we would be very happy to work with other manufacturers that participate in the financing. Provided that it does not delay us, because again, there is urgent need to develop the use of electric cars. Renault or Peugeot could for example use our infrastructure, it is not reserved for Tesla.

Stocks.org: Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault, provided there is still some 10% of global electric car market by 2020 Do you believe.?
Elon Musk: In any case, he acted much more in favor of the electric car that most major manufacturers. The Nissan Leaf is working well in California, although it has less autonomy than the Tesla. 10%? That would make about 10 million cars … I hope he’s right!