Skip to main content

It’s a good day to be Elon Musk: Tesla car deliveries are up 70 percent

Tesla Model S
Image used with permission by copyright holder
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.”

Recommended Videos

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.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

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.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Elon Musk wants to add videoconferencing to Tesla cars
Elon Musk

 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to add videoconferencing to your Model 3.

Read more
Bose wants to dominate car audio, and I heard its next-gen 3D automotive speakers
Bose logo on a speaker grille

Bose’s automotive audio business is huge, and it’s set to get even bigger. The company has been making big plays in car audio for some time now. The audio company works with premium brands like Porsche, building high-end speakers that allow drivers to experience high-quality audio on the road, whether they’re carting the family around in an Escalade or weaving around the highway (don’t do that) in a Porsche Macan.

But while it has a solid selection of audio brands under its belt, the world of personal audio is also evolving. Mercedes-Benz showed off its Dolby Atmos system at CES last year, and now, a year later, plenty of other brands are joining the trend. At CES 2025, Bose walked me through its current lineup of automotive audio products, as well as a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Immersive audio
The big trend in all areas of personal audio right now essentially boils down to supporting 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos. Consumer home theater products are increasingly offering up-firing and side-firing speakers that can bounce audio around the room to simulate height and surround effects, while headphone brands are increasingly developing spatialized audio tech that can convert stereo audio into simulated spatial audio.

Read more
You Asked: What’s the most impressive thing you saw at CES?
You Asked CES Editors Cut

On today’s special edition of You Asked, we tracked down each of our editors and put them on the spot to find out what they thought was the most impressive thing they saw at CES 2025 in Early January. Let’s find out what they had to say.
Panasonic Z95B

There’s been some really cool TV tech at CES, but the thing I’m most excited about is the new Panasonic Z95B. Instead of the regular OLED display structure we’ve seen in recent years with MLA technology, this uses a four-layer panel structure. It features individual red, green, and blue layers (two of the latter) for the emissive light.

Read more