Tag: 3 (Page 1 of 2)

U.S. and Switzerland sign agreement for PAC-3 MSE missiles

November 2, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Bern, Switzerland, Oct. 31, 2023 – United States and Switzerland officials formalized an agreement for Switzerland to purchase Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles and related support equipment. With this agreement, Switzerland becomes PAC-3’s 15th partner nation.

PAC-3 MSE will bolster Switzerland’s Patriot ground-based air defense system as a part of the Switzerland Air Force’s Air2030 program.

Lockheed Martin and armasuisse also finalized the Offset Agreement supporting the PAC-3 MSE program. This agreement is the catalyst for multiple new projects that will support Switzerland’s security-relevant technology and industry base (STIB).

The PAC-3 MSE expands the battlespace with a dual-pulse solid rocket motor, providing increased performance in altitude and range. PAC-3 MSE is a high-velocity interceptor that defends against incoming threats, including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, advanced threats and aircraft. The PAC-3 MSE missile uses Hit-to-Kill technology, intercepting threats through kinetic energy via body-to-body contact.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alstom Completes 100th ‘Make-in-India’ Metro Trainset

August 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

05/08/2019 – Alstom India continues its noteworthy innings in India by rolling out the 100^th ‘Make-in-India’ metro trainset today from its state-of-the-art rolling stock manufacturing facility in Sricity, Andhra Pradesh. The delivery of the centurion trainset to Kochi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) also marks completion of the Kochi Metro order for 25 trainsets by Alstom. Kochi operates a 100% ‘Make in India’ metro fleet entirely custom-built at the flagship manufacturing facility at Sricity.

The facility was set up as Alstom’s first global manufacturing centre for rolling stock in the Asia-Pacific region. This plant commenced operations in November 2013 and delivered its first metro trainset to Chennai Metro Rail Corporation (CMRL) in February 2014. The facility currently employs more than 600 employees and has a production capacity of 240 cars per year. The factory is currently scaling up to double production capacity and also introducing latest industrial technologies.

Till date, Alstom’s Sricity facility has made on-time deliveries of more than 420 metro cars for its Indian and international customers. This includes delivering completely indigenous trainsets to metro rail corporations of Chennai, Lucknow, Kochi and Sydney (its first international order).

Speaking on this occasion Alain Spohr, Managing Director for India and South Asia, said “We have hit a century by delivering the 100th trainset. This milestone signifies many things, but most importantly, it is a vote of confidence of our customers in our capabilities to deliver world class, custom-made solutions. This achievement has been possible by our belief in our Indian talent that includes more than 4200 team members working across various locations in India. We are confident to reach greater heights with our commitment to ‘Make in India’ and aligning our business goals with the country’s vision.”

In just six years since its commencement, Sricity facility has cemented its position as a manufacturing hub for Alstom’s domestic and international clients. The supply chain is close to being 75% domestic to ensure localised manufacturing. Locally, it is also a preferred workplace due to its regular employee development and inclusive programmes with more than 10% of the staff strength being women in various roles as supervisors, planners, engineers etc.

Before end of this year, the facility will commence production for 248 metro cars (31 train sets of 8 cars each) for Mumbai Metro Line 3, 212 metro cars (106 train sets of 2 cars each) for Montreal Metro (Réseau express métropolitain) and 10 more train sets for Chennai Metro, which is already under execution.

Tesla Shares Skid After First-Quarter Deliveries Disappoint

April 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: A Tesla logo is seen at a groundbreaking ceremony of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory in Shanghai, China January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc shares fell more than 8 percent on Thursday after a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter deliveries, led by waning demand for its luxury Model S and X vehicles, added to worries about the electric carmaker’s finances.

At least four Wall Street brokerages cut their price targets on the company’s stock, citing concerns about profitability and revenue after deliveries of the higher-priced luxury cars more than halved compared to the fourth quarter.

RBC analysts called Model S/X deliveries “very disappointing” and estimated the numbers would translate to a more than $1 billion shortfall in revenue compared to previous estimates.

The company had already flagged in February that it expected to post a first-quarter loss as it launched its cheaper $35,000 version of the Model 3 sedan.

In the quarter, Tesla delivered 50,900 Model 3s, the linchpin of its growth strategy, falling short of analysts’ estimates of 58,900, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Tesla also pinned the blame for the first-quarter delivery drop to longer transit times, which analysts said could impact cash flow, even though the company claimed it had sufficient cash on hand.

The company said it had delivered only half of the quarter’s numbers by March 21, with 10,600 vehicles still in transit at the end of the quarter. By comparison, only 1,900 vehicles were in transit at the end of the fourth quarter.

Cowen and Co analysts said that the delivery and transit details suggested “cash was likely dangerously low” after Tesla paid off a $920 million convertible bond obligation in cash in the beginning of March.

Still, there were no new downgrades by brokerages on Tesla shares. The company is currently rated “buy” or higher by 12 of the 30 brokerages covering the company, 7 “hold” and 11 “sell” or lower.

The carmaker reaffirmed its forecast to deliver between 360,000 and 400,000 vehicles this year, and said U.S. orders for the new Model 3 outpaced what the company was able to fulfill in the quarter.

Nord LB analyst Frank Schwope called the numbers “more shocking than disappointing” and said there remain doubts whether Tesla could deliver 400,000 cars this year.

Lawyers for Tesla chief Elon Musk will argue on Thursday that he did not violate a fraud settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and should not be held in contempt, the latest twist in a high-profile battle between the billionaire and the government.

Musk’s fight with the SEC, to play out in a Manhattan federal court hearing, has raised investor worries that it could lead to restrictions on his activities or even his removal from Tesla, while distracting him at a pivotal point in the company’s expansion.

(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

Tesla Boom Lifts Norway’s Electric Car Sales to 58%!

April 1, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: Electric cars are seen at Tesla charging station in Gulsvik, Norway March 17, 2019. REUTERS/Terje Solsvik/File Photo

OSLO (Reuters) – Almost 60 percent of all new cars sold in Norway in March were fully electric, the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF) said on Monday, a global record set by a country seeking to end fossil-fueled vehicles sales by 2025.

Exempting battery engines from taxes imposed on diesel and petrol cars has upended Norway’s auto market, elevating brands like Tesla and Nissan, with its Leaf model, while hurting sales of Toyota, Daimler and others.

In 2018, Norway’s fully electric car sales rose to a record 31.2 percent market share from 20.8 percent in 2017, far ahead of any other nation, and buyers had to wait as producers struggled to keep up with demand.

The surge of electrics to a 58.4 percent market share in March came as Tesla ramped up delivery of its mid-sized Model 3, which retails from 442,000 crowns ($51,400), while Audi began deliveries of its 652,000-crowns e-tron sports utility vehicle.

(Editing by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos and Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)

Tesla to Unveil Model Y on March 14

March 4, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc will unveil its Model Y on March 14 at an event in LA Design Studio, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Sunday.

“Model Y, being an SUV, is about 10 percent bigger than Model 3, so will cost about 10 percent more & have slightly less range for same battery,” Musk said in a tweet. https://reut.rs/2EvYrUU

The Shanghai Gigafactory, based in eastern China, aims to manufacture Model 3 and Model Y cars, with annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles.

Tesla earlier this week offered a $35,000 version of its Model 3 sedan and said its global sales would now be online-only, steps designed to increase demand and cut overhead costs for the electric vehicle maker.

(Reporting by Rishika Chatterjee and Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

Tesla-Model-Y

Tesla To Buy Battery Tech Maker Maxwell Technologies

February 4, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc has agreed to buy energy storage company Maxwell Technologies Inc for $218 million in an all-stock deal that could help the electric car maker produce batteries that hold more energy and last longer at a time when it needs to cut costs and faces growing competition.

Tesla is rapidly increasing production of its Model 3 sedan and needs to lower the price to reach a broader customer base than its pure luxury vehicles.

Maxwell executives told investors in January that it had developed and patented a “dry electrode” technology that could significantly increase the driving range and reduce the cost of electric vehicle batteries. In a presentation, Maxwell said it expected strategic alliances “within six months” centered around this technology.

The company also makes ultracapacitors, which discharge energy faster than batteries and are seen as complementing battery technology.

Ultracapacitors, combined with the energy of batteries, can enable rapid response times, function across a broader temperature range and lengthen battery life by up to two times, according to a blog post on Maxwell’s website.

Volvo-owner Geely Holding Group last May announced a deal with Maxwell and described the company’s ultracapacitor technology as helping to deliver “peak power” for hybrid cars.

“Tesla needs Maxwell’s solvent-free battery electrode manufacturing for a viable path to lower battery costs,” said Craig Irwin of Roth Capital Partners. “Real competitors are coming now, so Tesla needs to move fast.”

Maxwell’s customers also include General Motors and Lamborghini.

The offer values each Maxwell share at $4.75, representing a 55 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on Friday, the companies said. Maxwell shares rose to trade at $4.58.

Currently, Japan’s Panasonic Corp is the exclusive battery cell supplier for Tesla cars.

Tesla chief Elon Musk had highlighted the importance of ultracapacitors back in 2013.

“I’m a big fan of ultracapacitors. Was going to do my PhD at Stanford on them. But we need a breakthrough in energy density…,” Musk had tweeted https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/336598500156518400?lang=en.

Tesla also sells power storage, often in conjunction with its solar power business, and ultracapacitors could be used in backup systems for homes and for utility power grids.

Maxwell expects the deal, which has already been approved by its board, to close in the second quarter of 2019, or shortly thereafter.

DLA Piper was Maxwell’s outside legal counsel, while Barclays Capital was the independent adviser. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Tesla as outside legal counsel.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee, Peter Henderson and Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru and by Joe White and Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Musk Not Worried About Tesla Model 3 Demand

January 31, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Shares in Tesla Inc fell nearly 4 percent on Thursday as Wall Street analysts following up on its fourth-quarter results questioned underlying demand for its crucial Model 3 sedan and the electric car maker’s ability to make inroads in China.

Tesla reported quarterly profit below analysts’ expectations on Wednesday and surprised investors by announcing that Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja, 56, would leave and handover the reins to 34-year-old Zach Kirkhorn, its vice president of finance.

JPMorgan analysts were among those warning that Ahuja’s leaving deprived the company of long automotive industry experience and relative stability in a company which has seen a steady stream of senior staff come and go since 2016.

Analysts were also concerned by Tesla’s indication that it is only making cars for China and Europe right now, and expects a gap of about 10,000 vehicles between production and deliveries due to vehicles in transit at the end of the first quarter.

“This is a strong indication that demand in the U.S. for both the mid-range and long-range Model 3 versions has largely been exhausted, and the company is still working through the estimated ~6.8k of unsold Model 3 inventory,” Cowen analysts said.

Still, the fall in Tesla shares was less than that suggested by initial pricing after Wednesday’s results and also far smaller than some of the swings in one of the past year’s most volatile Wall Street stocks.

The company, which is striving to stabilise production and deliver consistent profit, ended the quarter with $4.3 billion in cash and said it had “sufficient cash on hand” to pay a $920 million convertible bond maturing in March.

Of the 31 brokerages covering Tesla, 10 have a “buy” or higher rating, 10 “hold” and 11 have a “sell” or lower rating and their median price target is 327.50.

Only four changed their price targets on the stock on Thursday, with two raises and two cuts. Wedbush cut its price target by $50 to $390 (297 pounds).

While Tesla is pumping money into a Shanghai factory, which it hopes to bring on line around the end of this year with a target of producing 500,000 vehicles a year, several analysts questioned whether that investment will pay off.

“Tesla serves the purpose of a ‘stalking horse’ to the fast growing domestic Chinese EV industry, but we believe it has limited to zero terminal value in a region where a number of domestic champions should emerge,” Morgan Stanley analysts said.

(Reporting by Sonam Rai and Jasmine I S in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

Image from http://www.tesla.com

Tesla Model 3 Gets Green Light in Europe

January 21, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Tesla’s (TSLA.O) Model 3 has been given the green light to hit the road in Europe, clearing the final hurdle for the European introduction of the battery-powered sedan expected next month.

The Model 3 is a crucial project for Tesla as the U.S. electric vehicle maker known for its high-price luxury cars tries to reach the mass market with a more affordable option.

The cheapest version of the Model 3 is on sale from 58,800 euros ($66,800), while the most basic version of the more exclusive Model S starts around 89,000 euros.

The Model 3 meets the requirements for approval on European roads, data published on the Netherlands Vehicles Authority’s (RDW) website showed. The RDW is one of the authorities in Europe tasked with licensing vehicles and vehicle parts.

This stamp of approval comes at a pivotal time for Tesla, as it prepares for increasing competition, with established automakers planning to spend nearly $300 billion on electric vehicles and batteries in the coming years.

Tesla last week said it would cut thousands of jobs to rein in costs as it plans to increase production of lower-priced versions of the Model 3.

($1 = 0.8805 euros)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Mark Potter)

Image from http://www.tesla.com

Tesla Employee Accused of Sabotage

June 19, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

In a letter sent to Tesla (TSLA) employees late Sunday and obtained by CNBC, Chief Executive Elon Musk said an employee has engaged in “quite extensive and damaging sabotage” to the business including changing the code on an internal product and sharing data with people outside the company. In a subsequent email on Monday about a factory fire, Musk alluded to the sabotage as well, noted the report. In 2016 when a SpaceX rocket exploded before an engine test Musk looked into the potential for sabotage among the employee ranks, according to CNBC.

Click the link below for the full story!

Tesla Employee Accused of Sabotage

Tesla Cuts 9% of Work Force

June 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is cutting several thousand jobs across the company as it seeks to reduce costs and become profitable without endangering the critical production ramp-up for its Model 3 sedan.

In an email he said had been sent to staff, billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday that the cuts were part of a simplification of Tesla’s management structure promised last month.

“As part of this effort, and the need to reduce costs and become profitable, we have made the difficult decision to let go of approximately 9 percent of our colleagues across the company,” the email read.

“These cuts were almost entirely made from our salaried population and no production associates were included, so this will not affect our ability to reach Model 3 production targets in the coming months.”

Tesla has been trying to hit a 5,000 per week production target of its Model 3 sedans after facing initial production hiccups. Last week, Musk said the carmaker should achieve its target by the end of June.

Shares rose as much as 7 percent and were last up 3.6 percent at $344.18.

The layoffs mean there likely will not be more job cuts in the near-term, said Efraim Levy, analyst at CFRA Research, adding that Tesla will likely raise capital early in 2019.

“I don’t think if Tesla becomes profitable in Q3 and Q4, that will be sustainable because of ramping up of the production. The layoffs may help them to achieve profitability in the near-term but not sustain it.”

Tesla has been burning through cash as it continues to spend on its assembly line and prepares for new investments on projects such as the Model Y crossover and its Gigafactory.

Free cash flow, a key metric of financial health, widened to negative $1 billion in the first quarter from negative $277 million in the fourth quarter, excluding costs of systems for its solar business.

Several Wall Street analysts anticipate a capital raise this year despite Musk’s statements that it will not be necessary due to profitability and positive cash flow in the third or fourth quarters.

Tesla said it began notifying impacted workers on Tuesday and would continue to do so throughout the week. A spokesman said it would reduce overall employment back to around 37,000 – roughly in line with numbers at the end of last year.

Musk also said that Tesla had decided not to renew a residential sales agreement with Home Depot (HD.N), and would focus instead on selling its solar products through its own stores and website. The company will seek to re-employ most Tesla employees at Home Depot stores at its own locations.

Musk told employees in May that the company was undergoing a “thorough reorganization” as it contends with production problems, senior staff departures and recent crashes involving its electric cars.

At the start of April, the company’s shares had fallen by around 35 percent from a peak hit last September but signs that it is on course to meet an output target of Model 3 cars have wiped out almost all of this year’s losses.

(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Patrick Graham and Nick Zieminski)

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