Tesla shares rise despite bigger 2Q loss
Electric automaker Tesla on Wednesday reported a huge second-quarter loss of $717.5 million -- worse than analysts expected -- but its share price rose on news the company was on track to become profitable this year.
The company has faced multiple controversies in recent months, many of them stemming from comments made by enigmatic CEO Elon Musk.
The $717.5 million loss was more than twice the $336.4 million loss reported in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues meanwhile jumped 43.5 percent to $4.0 billion.
Tesla said its closely-watched ramp-up of production of the Model 3 has hit its stride after earlier missing a series of targets.
Output of the Model 3, the company's first targeting the middle market and a major gamble for Musk, met a 5,000 per week benchmark in June and repeated that pace "multiple times" in July.
Tesla said it is on track to hit 6,000 vehicles per week by late August and expects to reach 10,000 per week "sometime next year."
Shares rose 4.4 percent in after-hours trading to $313.99.