Tesla delivered more of its Model 3 cars in the most recent quarter, helping to boost revenues. Elon Musk’s electric car company had revenues of $4bn in the three months to June, rising 43% from the same period last year.
The growth came as Tesla delivered more than 40,000 cars in the quarter, including about 18,000 Model 3s. However, the firm still lost more than $717m in the quarter – a record that is more than double a year ago, reports BBC.
Tesla has been spending heavily as it strives to get the Model 3 – its latest car – into the hands of customers. It reached its goal of making 5,000 Model 3 sedans a week “multiple” times in July, and aimed to produce 50,000 to 55,000 in the third quarter.
“It’s really kind of a mind-blowing leap forward,” Mr Musk said on a call with financial analysts.
Tesla said higher Chinese tariffs on US-made cars, imposed as part of a bigger trade dispute, are likely to hurt sales there. But the firm told investors it would shift its focus to Europe and North America “if necessary” to avoid any major impact.
Tesla also recently announced plans to build a new factory in China, an investment Mr Musk said would be about $2bn and produce about 250,000 vehicles annually.
Mr Musk said he remained confident of delivering on the promise of turning a profit in the second half of the year: “Our goal is to be profitable and cash-flow positive for every quarter going forward.”
Staff and other expenses have been cut in an effort to boost the firm’s bottom line. Capital expenditure is expected to fall $900m to about $2.5bn this year and Tesla had $2.2bn in cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter.
Mr Musk also apologized for being “impolite” on the analyst call for the previous quarter. At the time, he had dismissed some analyst questions as “boring”. Shares rose more than 9% in after-hours trading in New York.
