The going hasn’t always been easy for Tesla Motors, but today, the carmaker has some cause for celebration. On Sunday, a Tesla press release revealed that the electric carmaker’s third quarter deliveries were up 70 percent, to 24,500 cars. A Reuters report attributes this achievement to production improvements, cheaper lease deals, and discounts on some models. And given that these latest figures are represent a 37 percent increase from second quarter production numbers, whatever the cause, Tesla could certainly use more of it.
Thanks to this most recent report, Tesla is nearing its goal of delivering 50,000 vehicles in the second half of 2016, and the company believes that its fourth quarter numbers will be better still. “We expect Q4 deliveries and production to be at or slightly above Q3, despite Q4 being a shorter quarter and the challenge of delivering vehicles in winter weather over holidays,” Tesla said in its release. “Guidance of 50,000 vehicles for the second half of 2016 is maintained.”
Despite public interest and plenty of press around Tesla, its electric vehicles, and its enigmatic CEO, the company has been losing money. Just last month, Musk emailed employees of Tesla Motors, asking them to cut costs and deliver “every car we possibly can” in hopes of achieving positive cash flow in Q3. This, he said, would be the company’s last opportunity to show investors better numbers before another fundraising round.
“The simple reality of it is that we will be in a far better position to convince potential investors to bet on us if the headline is not ‘Tesla Loses Money Again,’ but rather ‘Tesla Defies All Expectations and Achieves Profitability,’” Musk wrote in an email sent August 29, originally obtained by Bloomberg. “That would be amazing!” he encouraged.
And while we now have information about delivery and production numbers for the third quarter, financial results have yet to be revealed. Those will be made available in early November.
