Elon Musk seeks record quarter, nudges Tesla workers to 'catch up' on deliveries
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is looking to ramp up deliveries of the company’s electric vehicles, hoping to notch a record second quarter.
In an email to employees, Musk asked workers to focus on delivering vehicles and cutting costs, as the automaker targets as many as 400,000 deliveries in 2019.
“While our demand is strong, we have a lot of vehicle deliveries to catch up to in order to have a successful quarter,” the email read, as viewed by Reuters. “If we execute well, Q2 will be an all-time record for Tesla vehicle deliveries and an awesome victory!”
Tesla did not return FOX Business' request for comment.
In a previous email to employees, Musk said the company was on pace for a record-breaking quarter, where deliveries could top the previous record of 90,700. However, Model 3 production would need to exceed 1,000 cars per day in order to achieve that goal by the end of the three-month period.
Musk's optimism regarding demand and deliveries follows disappointing first-quarter results, while shares of Tesla are down nearly 43 percent so far this year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 352.56 | +12.92 | +3.80% |
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The company posted a loss of $702 million in the first quarter – adding it was unlikely to post another profit until the third quarter. Deliveries of Model S and Model X vehicles declined to 12,100, down from its stated “two-year run rate” of about 25,000. Overall vehicle deliveries fell to 63,000 – down from 90,700 in the prior quarter. A decline in deliveries was attributed to seasonality and a jump in sales in the fourth quarter – before the electric vehicle tax credit phase-out began.
Musk said the company faced “unforeseen challenges,” which cut overseas deliveries almost in half, ten days before the quarter had ended. On Wednesday, the entrepreneur said he planned to start holding calls with Tesla teams across the globe to speed up the process.