Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he expects record sales of electric cars in the second quarter of 2019. Future sales growth, he associates with the release of the SUV Model Y, which, according to him, will cause great demand.
Musk said that his release is scheduled to begin in late 2020. He predicts that the new SUV will be more popular than the Model 3, Model S and Model X combined. The company also plans to increase the battery capacity in the car. The head of Tesla also recalled plans to integrate an auto-driving system into cars, which should appear next year.
According to Musk, Tesla sells much more cars than it can produce, and now the company has the opportunity to deliver more cars in the second quarter of this year than in any previous one. The current record came in the fourth quarter of 2018 when 90,700 cars were delivered.
“I want to be clear that there is not a demand problem… Sales have far exceeded production, and production has been pretty good. We have a decent shot at a record quarter… if not, it’s going to be very close.” – Elon Musk
Musk added that demand for Tesla cars remains high, despite fears caused by disappointing supplies in the first quarter.
Earlier in the quarterly report, the company announced plans to return to profitability in the third quarter after a major loss in January-March. Net loss in the first quarter amounted to $702.1 million. At the same time, the company redeemed $920 million in convertible bonds and retained reserves of $2.2 billion.
The company still plans to supply in 2019 from 360 thousand to 400 thousand cars. In the first quarter, only 63 thousand cars were delivered. In early June, Tesla began to accept pre-orders for Model 3 electric vehicles manufactured at the Shanghai plant, which cost well below imported models. The launch of the first electric cars in Shanghai is scheduled for early 2020. In addition, in the future, the company plans to release fully autonomous models and launch the service of unmanned taxi in the United States.
