Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
- Tesla's longawaited $35,000 Model 3 was announced Thursday evening.
- CEO Elon Musk said the company will close many of its retail stores to help lower the cost of the Model 3.
- Musk doesn't expect Tesla to be profitable in the first quarter, but believes profitability should return in Q2.
- Wall Street analysts were mixed on the announcement.
- Watch Tesla trade live.
Tesla on Thursday announced the arrival of its $35,000 Model 3, which CEO Elon Musk has been promising since March 2016.
Musk also said Tesla would close "many" of the its 378 retail stores, allowing the electric-car maker to lower the price of the sedan.
"Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected," the company said in a blog post.
But that wasn't all, the announcement was accompanied by Musk warning he doesn't "expect to be profitable in Q1 but profitability in Q2 is likely." That was a change of tone from his January conference call, when he said he was "optimistic about being profitable in Q1 and all quarters going forward."
The reception on Wall Street, at least among investors, was a bit chilly, with shares trading lower by more than 4% Friday morning. But analysts were mixed, with some seeing the glass half empy and others seeing it as half full.
Check out what Wall Street analysts are saying about Thursday evening's announcement:
Get the latest Tesla stock price here.