Tesla built 28,578 Model 3s in Q2, achieving production record
The automaker claims 420,000 outstanding Model 3 reservations through the end of June.
Tesla's determination to build 5,000 Model 3s in a week in Q2 2018 has paid off.
Tesla has just released its Q2 2018 delivery and production numbers, and things are looking good. Overall, Tesla built 53,339 vehicles from April through June, split between 28,578 Model 3s and 24,761 Model S and Model X vehicles. In fact, this was the first time that Model 3 production outpaced production of Tesla's other two vehicles.
In the last seven days of Q2, Tesla's report claims that the company built 5,031 Model 3s and 1,913 Model S and X vehicles, which means the company made its self-imposed production target by the skin of its teeth.
Tesla employees celebrate a milestone several quarters in the making.
It appears Elon Musk's giant tent has also paid off. The automaker claims roughly 20 percent of Model 3s last week (so about 1,000) came from the new general assembly line in the tent constructed outside Tesla's Fremont facility (called GA4). The company believes its in-building like (GA3) can achieve a production rate of 5,000 per week on its own, but it said that GA4 can help the company achieve a production rate of 6,000 Model 3s per week by late August.
While it might have built 53,339 vehicles in Q2, it only delivered 40,740 of them -- 18,440 Model 3s, with the rest split nearly evenly between Model S and Model X. An additional 11,166 Model 3s are currently in transit to customers, the large number attributed to last-minute production ramp-ups.
If you're wondering how many folks are still sitting on Model 3 reservations, the answer is "a lot, apparently." Tesla claims that there are approximately 420,000 outstanding reservations for Model 3 vehicles at the end of the quarter.
As for the nitty gritty of the company's financials, we'll have to wait about another month for Tesla to release those figures. But, according to today's release, the company still expects "positive GAAP net income and cash flow in Q3 and Q4, despite negative pressures." That last bit is referring to current and potential tariffs on goods and cars flowing into and out of China.
