Multiple delays later, the first deliveries of the Tesla Model X (gullwing rear doors and all) will take place in September. Tesla has been producing “release candidate” Model X bodies in its new body shop (which is equipped with 500 robots) and has just conducted a one-week plant shutdown at its Fremont factory to accommodate the shared use of the general assembly line for both the Model S and Model X. Pricing for the Model X is not clear, but its presumed to be somewhere around the Model S’s $69,900 starting figure.
As for the highly anticipated Model 3, Tesla will reportedly reveal the production version in the first quarter of 2016 before deliveries begin in late 2017. Yes, that’s a good chunk of time for interested consumers to grow impatient.
Also mentioned within Tesla’s second quarter 2015 shareholder letter, the electric automaker produced 12,807 vehicles in Q2 of this year, which surpassed expectations and set a record for Tesla. 11,532 of those vehicles were delivered.
The company also “recognized revenue of $20 million” from its new used-car sales program. Revenue was up nearly 40 percent from a year ago, to $1.2 billion for this past quarter. However, as has been the case since the beginning, Tesla operated at a net loss from working through $184 million in research, development, and construction expenses.
Tesla’s greatest hope is that the Model 3 will open the brand to a massive set of new customers and will bring the automaker to profitability, but continuing costs related to development of the supercharger network, infrastructure build-out, and battery testing stand between Tesla and positive cash flow.
