Can Tesla Really Put 1 Million Vehicles On Roads By 2020?

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc TSLA expects to have 1 million of its cars on roads by 2020.

Dan Costa, editor-in-chief of PC Magazine, was on CNBC Tuesday to discuss whether Tesla will really be able to pull this off.

Tesla's Advantage

Costa was asked how much advantage Tesla currently has over other car manufacturers in producing electric vehicles. He replied, "I think it’s huge. In part, it's because they are a Silicon Valley-based company. They are pushing the innovation envelope faster than any of the big car manufacturers, and they are investing in these technologies that may not have a payoff for a number of years. So, they are already starting to see some turnaround on that."

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He continued, "Their battery technology is pretty sophisticated. The question is, 'With this new Model 3, will they be able to get to the 200 mile range that they have been promising?' and that’s really the range that opens up a lot of possibilities. For $35,000 at 200 mile range, that’s suddenly a car that the average American will consider buying.

"And that’s how they really are going to ramp up their volume."

Won’t Bet Against Tesla

On Tesla’s plans to put 1 million vehicles on the road by 2020, Costa said, "It’s an ambitious plan. And the thing is, you wouldn’t expect anything less from Tesla. Tesla has really defined itself by creating very ambitious plans, raising money to make them happen and then delivering mostly on those promises. So, I wouldn’t necessarily bet against them.

"But there’s also something here where you need a certain amount of economy of scale. You need to have charging stations, you need to have infrastructure and that’s been built out over the last couple of years," Costa concluded.