Tesla Motors (TSLA) Shares Up As Model S Shipment Date Nears

Shares in the electric car manufacturer rose 7 percent in Tuesday trading to reach $30.79 after it announced that it would begin shipping its Model S sedan after three years of development.

Maxim Group upgraded Tesla to a Buy rating and predicted that shares in the company will hit $50 following the news, according to Daily Finance.

I am amazed at how fast our robots can position major sections of the car and how quickly our massive presses can transform huge rolls of aluminum into doors, hoods and battery enclosures, George Blankenship, VP of worldwide sales and ownership experience for Tesla wrote Tuesday.

The Model S's 85 kWh battery also recently broke ground in delivering a range of 320 miles under 2-cycle EPA testing, the first time an electric vehicle (EV) has achieved such a distance. The Model S is expected to achieve a range of 250 to 350 miles if driven at constant highway speeds between of 50 and 70 mph, and the company says the EV could achieve 400 miles on a single charge at slower speeds. Under the EPA's new, more stringent 5-cycle testing, the Model S achieved a range of 265 miles. The 5-cycle test includes cold weather and high-speed testing.

Tesla, in Palo Alto, Calif., has been developing the car for several years. Its only other vehicle product is the Tesla Roadster. The Roadster has been sold out in North America for some time, meaning the Model S, which starts at $49,900 MSRP, will be an important return to revenue and actually selling cars for the company.

Tesla is also developing its Model X crossover vehicle which the company says will be available beginning in late 2013.