Tesla CEO Elon Musk's second-quarter earnings call took a more measured and apologetic tack, toning down the company's outlook while also predicting profitability by next quarter.
The billionaire addressed questions about Tesla's production on Wednesdsay, as well as apologized to two Wall Street analysts during the call. Shares of Tesla rose 8 percent after the call. Read the conference call highlights here:
Ramping up production
We've spent a lot of time debugging wide ranging manufacturing issues that the potential for our existing lines to be able to produce far more cars is much greater than expected.
Getting Tesla to cash flow positive
Provided the economy is roughly where it is today, or is reasonably good and there is not a big force majeure event, ... I feel comfortable achieving a GAAP income-positive and cash-flow positive quarter every quarter from here on out.
Musk apologizes to Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi
I would like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call. Obviously I think there's really no excuse for bad manners and I was violating my own rule in that regard. There are reasons for it, I got no sleep, 120 hour weeks, but nonetheless, there is still no excuse, so my apologies for not being polite on the prior call.
Musk apologizes to RBC's Joseph Spak
I would also like to apologize for being impolite to you on the prior call. That's not right, and I hope you accept my apology.
Tesla's production line tent
People make fun of our tent, … but by the way our tent is amazing. … It's not like, people say "tent," but it is not something you buy from REI or something to go camping. This is a tent that is actually commonly used as a permanent structure.
No capital raise
We certainly could raise money, but I think we do not need to, … and I think it's better discipline not to.
Producing 1 million cars by 2020
If it's not a million it is going to be pretty close. I would say if it is not a million it will be 750,000 or something like that in 2020. … We'll aim for a million by 2020, but somewhere between a half a million and a million seems pretty likely.
Best production pipeline
If there's a company with a better product pipeline, I'd like to know what it is because we have some super awesome stuff coming.