Tesla is losing more than $4,000 on every Model S it sells.
Last quarter, the American automaker went through $359 million in cash despite delivering a record 11,532 vehicles to customers. Of course, the company is getting ready to launch its next vehicle, the Tesla Model X, an all-electric crossover. CEO Elon Musk has given himself a deadline to make enough money for mass producing multiple models by the first quarter of 2016, while expanding the business of manufacturing electric power storage systems.
As of June 30, Tesla had $1.15 billion on hand, down from $2.67 billion a year earlier. Tesla reported an operating loss of $47 million, which makes the loss per car more than $4,000. Most of its cars are made to order, so Tesla has to also find a way to streamline its mass manufacturing system.
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Tesla confirmed that it plans to spend $1.5 billion in capital this year in order to get manufacturing of the Model X up and running. The next new model won’t come until 2017, the Model 3, meaning capital spending should drop next year. Musk is considering options to raise more capital as a risk reduction maneuver and hasn’t ruled out the idea of selling more stock.
The automaker hopes to hit a sales goal of 500,000 units a year by 2020, much of which will be contingent on how well the Model 3 turns, which is aiming to have a 250-mile all-electric range while starting from $35,000.
[Source: Automotive News]
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