Tesla loses more money than ever, promises profit this year

Tesla might have hit its Model 3 production target of 5000 cars per week, but it's yet to have an impact on the bottom line, with the EV brand reporting a US$717 million loss in the second quarter of 2018 - the biggest in its history.

But there could hope on the horizon for the oft-in-the-headlines company, with boss Elon Musk telling investors "our goal is to be profitable and cash-flow positive for every quarter going forward".

The goal from Musk, along with news the company was sitting on US$2.2 billion in cash reserves, was enough to push Tesla shares up around 10 per cent.

The earnings announcement follows last month's news that Tesla had "become a real car company" after finally hitting his self-set Model 3 production target before June 30.

Following a last-minute run to the deadline, the brand sent Model 3 number 5000 through its quality checking staton at about 5am on July 1 - five hours after the midnight deadline expired.

“We did it!! What an incredible job by an amazing team. Couldn’t be more proud to work with you. It is an honour,” Musk wrote in an email quickly leaked to the media.

“The level of dedication and creativity was mind-blowing. We either found a way or, by will and inventiveness, created entirely new solutions that were thought impossible. Intense in tents. Transporting entire production lines across the world in massive cargo planes. Whatever. It worked.

“I think we just became a real car company.”

In other news from Tesla's earnings announcement, the brand confirmed it had produced a total 53,339 vehicles in the second quarter, and delivered 40,768 cars (22,319 units of the Models S and X and 18,449 units of the Model 3).

Tesla's new goal is to produce 6000 vehicles per week by the end of August, part of a plan to produce one million cars per year by 2020 - though Musk himself concedes that around 750,000 units is a more realistic target.

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