When Tesla flipped the switch and activated its Autopilot software late previous year, it didn’t take long before Model S owners began pushing the software to the absurd limits. But Tesla said it may need to raise more money to get the compact electric sedan to market.
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Tesla has yet to achieve profitability (although, that’s not what Tesla stock trades on), relying on the sale of cars to finance itself. “That would be fantastic!”
Granted, it won’t turn off the function for good – just until the auto is parked.
Tesla delivered 50,568 vehicles in 2015 and has said it will deliver about 80,000 this year.
The company said its main source of revenue is the sale of vehicles, but deliveries fell below projections in the first half, to 29,222.
The company has posted operating losses in the last 14 straight quarters, and it’s reported negative cash flow since early 2014, Reuters reported.
The e-mail speaks to Musk’s way of rallying the troops at a company that’s been under intense scrutiny all summer.
The disclosure, part of an S-4 filing related to its planned merger with SolarCity Corp., comes as the auto maker faces big costs related to product development and continues to book net losses in its core business. In addition to the new restrictions, the new update is also expect to receive improvements in efficiency and the ability to handle ramp-to-ramp highway driving with the obvious caveat of requiring owners to always remain vigilant to road.
The Wall Street Journal noted that Tesla said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday it will raise additional capital by the end of the year. “Elon Musk dominates the Tesla board through his 18.4% stock ownership and his positions as the CEO and chairman of the board, and because a majority of the Tesla board is intimately involved with other Musk companies”, the complaint states.
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According to reports, Tesla closed the second quarter of this year with nearly $3.25 billion in cash, but the automaker is reportedly left with approximately $2.15 billion after it repaid a credit line and a redemption of $422 million in convertible notes.
