Tesla Has Reported Its Biggest-Ever Losses As Model 3 Production Still Lags

Tesla has released its worst financial results ever. Investment in increased production of both the Model S and Model X was apparently behind quarterly losses that shot up to $619 million (£468 million), and whichever way you slice that, it doesn’t look good.

It almost doubles the second-quarter losses posted by the tech pioneer. Versus the same three months last year it represents a negative swing of about $641 million. Ouch.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has blamed ‘welding issues’ for delays in the Model 3’s production. The entry-level car is made mainly from steel, not the aluminium that the company is used to working with for the Model S and Model X. It makes that hypnotic production video look a bit redundant.

With the target of 20,000 Model 3s built by December now totally impossible because of production bottlenecks, wait times for a Model 3, as confirmed by Musk himself, are now expected to be around 12 months. There are around 400,000 people on the waiting list for a car. It’s enough to make people look elsewhere, and rivals could potentially exploit the delay. Time will tell.