Tesla Inc will cut vehicle assembly costs by half in future generations of cars, engineers told investors on Wednesday, outlining design and factory efficiency gains as fans waited for Chief Executive Elon Musk to unveil a new model.
In the first two hours of the presentation, Tesla executives led by Musk discussed everything from a white-paper plan for the globe to embrace sustainable energy to the company's innovation in managing its operations from manufacturing to service.
Musk had been expected to lay out a plan to make a small, affordable electric vehicle that would broaden his brand's appeal and fend off competition, and he presented a slide showing two disguised future models.
But by late in the presentation executives had not detailed new vehicle plans or financial targets, and Tesla shares were down about 3 percent in after-hours trading.
