The market likes the more sober Tesla, and Musk’s mea culpa
San Francisco — Tesla said it would produce its new Model 3 sedan at a profit, after several recent weeks in which output stabilised — buoying hopes that the electric car maker led by Elon Musk will stanch its financial losses in the second half of the year. CEO Musk is under intense pressure to prove he can deliver consistent production numbers for the sedan, Tesla’s lowest-priced model and the key to its plans to become a mass-market car maker, after a host of manufacturing challenges and concerns it was running through cash too quickly. Despite Tesla reporting a record loss that doubled to $718m in the second quarter, shares jumped as much as 11% in after-hours trading, as investors focused on steadier production volumes and a slower rate of cash burn. That put it on track to retake the title of most valuable US car maker from General Motors. The company cut its capital spending plans and said it would not hit its long-term rate of producing 10,000 Model 3s per week until next ye...
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