Musk expressed confidence the company would figure out how to scale up its production capacity, predicting it will produce 500,000 vehicles by 2018, two years earlier than previously expected.
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The automotives company three months ago said it wanted to achieve a profit in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The company said it expected capital expenditure to be 50 percent higher in 2016 than its previous forecast of $1.5 billion.
Tesla Motors’ Model 3 electric vehicle is due to go into production in late 2017.
“While this is a headline positive for TSLA, we need more comfort around overall execution, financing, manufacturing and cost controls necessary to drive profitability upside before getting more constructive”, Brad Erickson, analyst at Pacific Securities, said in reaction to that ambitious production target announced by Tesla.
The accelerated target is not without reason though, as Musk is looking to be able to fill the massive number of pre-orders that have come in for Tesla’s $35,000 Model 3 electric vehicle, the company’s first mass-produced electric auto.
Musk also said he plans to start producing more vehicle components in-house – another reason he’s investing more money in Tesla’s manufacturing capabilities.
Tesla said it had seen demand rise across all its models, especially its Model 3 – the carmaker’s first mass-market product. The CEO also expressed interest in setting up assembly lines in Europe in China after maximizing production at its Fremont plant, to satisfy Tesla demand more efficiently in these regions.
He said that the Model X – with its gull-wing doors and free-standing rear seats – is much more complicated than the Model 3, so industry watchers should not assume the company would have similar production problems. It expects to ship between 80,000 and 90,000 vehicles this year.
A severe shortage of parts for the Model X in January and February as well as quality issues for the SUV were blamed for the shortfall.
Tesla’s sales grew twenty two percent to $1.15 billion from $940 million.
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Musk hinted that Tesla will soon hire a big-name vice president to improve manufacturing.
