Tesla puts the brakes on sales outlook as its losses accelerate
ELECTRIC car maker Tesla yesterday put the brakes on its outlook for the year, saying it was unlikely to meet its sales target of 55,000 vehicles and possibly undershooting by up to 5,000.
The US company, headed by chief executive Elon Musk, posted a second-quarter net loss of $184m (£118m), up from $61.9m in the same period last year and above the average analyst forecast of $117m.
Explaining the sales forecast cut, the company said in a statement: “While our equipment installation and final testing of Model X is going well, there are many dependencies that could influence our [fourth-quarter] production and deliveries.”
It added: “We are still testing the ability of many suppliers to deliver high-quality production parts in quantities sufficient to meet our planned production ramp.”
Manufacturing numbers, seen by many as key, were at 12,807 vehicles, 46 per cent up from a year ago. It is also up from the 11,600 cars built in the first quarter, and above the target of an increase of 12 per for the second quarter to 12,500 cars.