(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Tesla Motors said it was stepping up production plans for its upcoming Model 3 mass-market sedan and would build a total of 500,000 all-electric vehicles in 2018, two years ahead of schedule, but warned that spending will ramp up in tandem.
The company, which three months ago aimed to make a net profit in the final quarter of this year, gave no profit target on Wednesday and said capital spending would rise about 50 per cent more than previously forecast this year, to around $2.25 billion. New shares and debt will likely be issued at some point, chief executive Elon Musk added. Tesla, which produces the luxury Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle, aims to become a high-volume automaker in a matter of years and already is valued on par with some of the biggest car companies in the world. Shares of the company, run by tech entrepreneur Musk, rose more than five percent in after hours trade after it announced its first-quarter results and beefed-up production targets. Musk's ambitions for clean cars, as well as rocket and solar businesses, have attracted a personal following often compared to that of the late Steve Jobs, but skeptics are also legion. Tesla reported a wider first-quarter net loss, although results broadly beat Wall Street targets. It also said it was on track to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 electric vehicles this year, as it accelerated its target for Model 3 output. Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth, who rates Tesla shares "neutral," said growing pains were to be expected while Tesla ramps up, but the company's cars were "close to perfect." "It's going to be challenging, making cars is hard and there are all sorts of moving parts and competition will come from known and unknown places," said Feinseth.