Tesla's 1st annual meeting: low-key, high return

San Francisco Chronicle - Tesla Motors' first annual shareholders meeting, held Wednesday, proved remarkably low-key for a company with a reputation for flash. 

No celebrities or government officials touting the company's luxury electric sports cars. No announcements of new alliances, like Tesla's partnerships with Daimler and Toyota. No tours of the company's new assembly line, still taking shape at the former New United Motor Manufacturing plant in Fremont.

Instead, the event featured Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk in a nondescript conference room giving a detailed update on the company's plans to roughly 100 adoring shareholders. He said the introduction of the company's next car - the long-awaited Model S - remains on track for next year, to be followed by the crossover Model X at the end of 2013.

"I really don't have a lot of bad news," Musk said, after thanking the investors for buying Tesla's stock. "Things are never entirely good, but right now they're pretty good."

Shares up 67.8%

The Palo Alto startup still isn't profitable, losing $154.3 million in 2010. But since the company's initial public stock offering last June, investors have shown a steady interest. Tesla stock closed Wednesday at $28.52, down 5.4 percent for the day but up 67.8 percent from its IPO price of $17.

In a brief presentation and lengthy Q&A, Musk described how the company had grown since last June, from 650 employees at the time of the initial public offering to more than 1,100 now. Tesla has sold more than 1,650 of its first car, the $109,000 Roadster, up from 1,063 last June.

Sedan sells out

The company also has taken 4,600 reservations for the $57,400-$77,400 Model S sedan, which will be built in Fremont and will hit the market in mid-2012. The company plans to make 5,000 of the sedans next year, increasing to 20,000 in 2013.

"That's great, to be able to have sold out next year's production this year," Musk said.

The company, he said, will probably host an event in late September or October to give people a chance to test drive a beta version of the Model S. The sedan will seat seven, have a range of up to 300 miles on a fully charged battery pack and will feature a 17-inch touch screen on the dashboard, a screen Musk likened to a giant iPad.

Model X prototype

Musk said Tesla may unveil a prototype of the Model X this December and plans to start production by the end of 2013. He offered few details about the crossover.

"We want it to be more functional than a minivan but cooler than an SUV," he said.

Musk said the company planned to offer another, more affordable car some time in the next four or five years, targeting the $30,000 price range. Tesla may also introduce a new version of its Roadster after the Model S launch, possibly in three years.

"Right now I think we've got to focus on the Model S," he said.

The investors at Wednesday's event seemed pleased with Tesla's progress so far.

'They're ramping up'

"I think they're one of the most amazing companies in the world," said investor Doug McKenzie, a manager with the SolarTech solar industry consortium in San Jose. "The stock is above its IPO price, they're ramping up, they've got capacity. From every measure I can see, they're successful."