Last year, early on, Tesla guided to 55,000 deliveries at the high end, but by the end of the year barely beat 50,000, after revising the projection down.
Advertisement
Musk and the company’s new chief financial officer, Jason Wheeler, used a conference call yesterday evening to assure investors that Tesla is determined to cut costs, hit production targets and stanch losses. Production will begin late 2016 for first deliveries in 2017.
There’s also the Model 3 to look forward to.
Tesla confirmed on Wednesday that its $35,000 entry-level Model 3 will be unveiled on March 31.
The company delivered 76% more Model S cars in 2015 – 14,037 in the fourth quarter alone – than it did in 2014, and the company launched the new Model X in 2015, netting $1.75 billion. “Then as development work continues on Model 3 and as we expand to support growth, operating expenses should increase throughout 2016, so that for the full year total operating expenses should increase by about 20 percent”.
Considering the recent setbacks had in the Model X department, not excluding sales concerns and the recent legal disputes held with suppliers, Wall Street will be interested in seeing whether Tesla’s Model X is set for a positive turnout.
Tesla Motors (TSLA – Get Report) stock is rising by 5.83% to $152.05 on heavy trading volume this morning, as the electric vehicles manufacturer expects to become profitable this year. “In fact, Model S was the only vehicle in its class with growing sales past year”. The release would bring Tesla to a broader audience.
Advertisement
The second one was that it plans to deliver 80,000 – 90,000 vehicles in 2016. Even the best estimates of how long it will take to produce the first Model 3s have them arriving towards the end of 2017, and if the Model X is any indication, that date could slip markedly. According to Tesla, it sold more than 25,000 Model S sedans in the United States past year, while its nearest competitor in the segment, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, sold just under 22,000 cars.
