Tech and Science News
Tesla makes good on 5,000 Model 3 production target
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc produced 5,031 Model 3 electric cars in the last seven days of its second quarter, the company said on Monday, beating its long-elusive production target after several hiccups.
The company also said 11,166 Model 3 vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the second quarter, and would be delivered early next quarter.
Model 3 production tripled to 28,578 in the company’s second quarter from the previous quarter, Tesla said, adding that it expects to increase production to 6,000 per week by late next month.
The remaining net Model 3 reservations at the end of the second quarter stood at roughly 420,000, the company said. More than 450,000 people had ordered Model 3 cars at the end of the first quarter.
Tesla has been trying to hit a 5,000 per week production target of its Model 3 sedans for months after facing production obstacles. Last month, Musk said the carmaker should achieve its target by the end of June.
The company’s shares were up 4.5 percent at $358.48 in premarket trading on the Nasdaq.
“The last 12 months were some of the most difficult in Tesla’s history,” the company said in a statement.
Money-losing Tesla has been burning through cash to produce the Model 3, and delays have also potentially compromised Tesla’s first-to-market position for a mid-priced, long-range battery electric car as a host of competitors prepare to launch rival vehicles.
Tesla also reaffirmed its positive cash flow outlook for the third and fourth quarters.
Despite originally touting the Model 3 as a $35,000 vehicle, Tesla has yet to begin building that basic version and instead is currently building a higher-priced version.
To meet its goal, Tesla had set up a new production line inside a tent on the campus of its Fremont factory. The company said the new general assembly line was responsible for about 20 percent of Model 3s produced last week.
Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty