Author: Neal E. Boudette / Source: New York Times
Over the last two months, Tesla has faced no shortage of distractions.
Elon Musk, its chief executive, announced on Twitter that he was going to take the company private, backed down, seemed to smoke marijuana in a podcast interview and was accused in a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission of misleading investors, a case he settled over the weekend.
But through it all, Tesla managed to produce cars in high volume. On Tuesday, it reported a 50 percent jump in production in the third quarter from the preceding period. Over all, the company made 80,142 cars, of which 53,239 were Model 3 sedans.
Model 3 output nearly doubled from the previous quarter — a key achievement because that is the car Mr. Musk is counting on to drive Tesla to profitability.
The electric-car maker delivered 83,500 vehicles to customers. Of those, 55,840 were Model 3s, about three times as many as in the second quarter.
Nevertheless, the company faces many challenges, one of which is: Can it make money?
Mr. Musk, who will step aside as chairman as part of his settlement with the S.E.C., has said his goal is for Tesla “to be profitable and cash-flow positive for every quarter going forward.”
In the 15 years since it was founded, Tesla has never reported an annual profit. Mr. Musk based his forecast for profits in the third and fourth quarter on production of at least 5,000 Model 3s a week. The company said it fell short of that in the third quarter, averaging about 4,100.
In previous quarters, the company’s costs increased as it made more cars, wiping out any chance at getting into the black. Tesla is expected to report its third-quarter earnings later this month.
David Whiston, an analyst at Morningstar, said that Tesla could report a profit for the quarter but that he was not convinced that it would. “They’re making more cars,” he said, “but it’s hard to say if they are making money on every one.”
In its Tuesday report, Tesla made no third-quarter financial…
The post Tesla Reports Progress on Model 3 Car Production appeared first on FeedBox.