Tesla: Model Y production starts on track for fall 2020
Automaker Tesla says it is on track to begin production of the Model Y by fall 2020. This upcoming model, a crossover that shares quite a few components with the Model 3, was presented in March.
In an explanation of the quarterly figures, Tesla writes that preparations for the production of the Model Y started in the second quarter of this year at the factory in Fremont. The manufacturer reports that the Model Y and Model 3 have “significant overlap” in the components, allowing existing production designs to be used to develop the Model Y production facilities. In addition, Tesla states that it is making progress in curb the cost of the Model Y; the cost will likely be slightly higher than that of the Model 3. At the beginning of this year, Elon Musk said that Model Y production will pick up steam by the end of 2020.
In the past second quarter, Tesla delivered 95,356 vehicles and produced a total of 87,048 cars. Those are records for the manufacturer; those numbers were not reached in any of the previous quarters. Of the 95,356 deliveries, 77,634 were attributable to the Model 3. Tesla delivered some 158,200 cars to customers in the first half of 2019, with at least 200,000 more deliveries in the second half to meet its forecast. . Tesla has again expressed the expectation that 360,000 to 400,000 cars will be delivered over the whole of 2019.
Despite the record numbers of delivered and produced cars, Tesla made a loss of $408 million in the past second quarter. That is less than the loss from the first quarter of this year, which came in at $702 million. In the second quarter of 2018, the loss was even larger: 1.43 billion dollars. Tesla attributes $117 million of the loss of $408 million to restructuring and other charges.
Tesla’s automotive sales totaled $5.38 billion; that is 44 percent higher than the previous quarter and 60 percent higher than the second quarter of 2018. Total revenue, which also includes components such as energy and services, came to $ 6.35 billion; that was $4.54 billion in the previous quarter and total revenue in the same quarter a year ago was $4 billion. Tesla now believes it has grown to a point where it can fund itself.
At the presentation of the quarterly results, CEO Elon Musk also announced that Jeffrey Brian Straubel is stepping down from his position as chief technology officer. He will remain in an advisory role and will therefore not leave Tesla completely. He held the role of CTO for about fifteen years. Musk said during an earnings call that if he and Straubel hadn’t had lunch together in 2003, Tesla wouldn’t have existed. Straubel also made it clear that leaving his position has nothing to do with a lack of trust and that he still loves the company very much. The current vice president of the technology department, Drew Baglino, succeeds Straubel.