To do this, Tesla released a target of no profit for the final quarter of the current year, and added that capital expenditures for the year would increase by around 50 percent than previously expected to $2.25 billion.
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Electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors Inc. brushed off a big first-quarter loss and cheered investors with news that it plans to accelerate its production plans.
The Palo Alto, California-based company said Model X production improved in March and that it remains on track to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 new vehicles this year. However, Elon Musk has revealed that he wants to put 500,000 cars on the road by 2018 instead of 2020 in order to meet up with the demand for its mass-market Model 3.
Its wider quarterly loss is not the only issue that Tesla is facing at the moment as two of its top executives have recently have left the company.
“You can make a human in 9 months, you can make a tool in 9 months”, – Musk said.
The shortfall was wider than the 36 cents per share reported a year earlier, while sales climbed 45 per cent from the prior-year period.
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.
Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault, however, wrote in a research note that Model X production is still an overhang.
JPMorgan analysts had noted that the $35,000 price tag, athough Tesla’s lowest ever, could still limit demand.
A key part of its revised production schedule, Tesla said construction on its Nevada Gigafactory is continuing on-schedule and should begin producing batteries before the end of the year.
In short, he’s lowering 2016 and 2017 revenue estimates on fewer Model Xs, partially offset by more Model Ss, but raising 2018-2020 revenue estimates on the accelerated Model 3 ramp.
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The expansion drive will be pursued without two senior executives, vice president for production Greg Reichow and vice president for manufacturing John Ensign, who Tesla confirmed would be leaving the company. The company has booked more than 400,000 pre-orders, with deposits netting the company more than $400 million in cash.
