Meanwhile, the company remains on track to deliver about 50,000 Model S and X cars in the first half of 2016.
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Tesla said its quarterly loss is $293.2 million, or $2.09 per share, up from about $184.2 million past year.
Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk announced last month plans to expand the company’s vehicle line to include electric trucks and buses.
But Tesla spends quite a lot, about $700 million a quarter since it ramped up the Model 3’s production.
Revenue at the California-based company climbed to $1.27 billion in the second quarter from $955 million a year ago.
Tesla reported second-quarter earnings after the close Wednesday that missed on the top and bottom lines, but vehicle production rose 18% from the previous quarter and 42% from Q2 2015.
Tesla shares were up nearly 2 per cent in after-hours trading. Even if Tesla manages to deliver on its goal of 50,000 cars in the second half of 2016, it will still be less than the low-end of its February guidance of 80,000-90,000 vehicles.
Likewise, Musk reiterated that Tesla expects its auto output will leap to 500,000 vehicles in 2018, when production of the upcoming Model 3, priced at $35,000, is expected to be in full swing. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated a loss of 95 cents per share, or 52 cents per share excluding expenses.
Tesla agreed this week to acquire SolarCity, a solar-power company where Musk serves as chairman, for $2.6 billion in stock. For instance, the company added cash from Model 3 reservation to its cash flow, which shows the desperation of the company.
Tesla reported that almost half of its second quarter production occurred in the final four weeks of the quarter.
Last week, Musk announced a deal for Tesla to buy another of his investments, SolarCity, in a $2.6bn deal which observers expect will combine solar technology with Musk’s innovative electric cars.
The company is spending as fast money as it raises it. Its cash or cash equivalents are now at $3.25 billion, buoyed by the secondary stock offering of $1.7 billion this May and deposits on about 373,00 Model 3 orders.
Musk said production of the Model 3 should start next July.
The somewhat muted stock reaction immediately after the earnings release is “another lesson that Tesla’s stock doesn’t trade over earnings per share”, said Ben Kallo, an analyst with Robert W. Baird.
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“We aren’t entirely clear as to why they opened a formal investigation”, Musk said of U.S. regulators. Additionally, hardware costs will fall as will installation costs thus improving efficiency for both companies. And last week, it celebrated the official opening of its Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, where battery-cell production is slated to begin in the fourth quarter.
