Tesla has an annual goal of selling 55,000 electric vehicles in 2015. It has sold about 20,000 units for its Model S sedan during the first two quarters of this year, and has received pre-orders of 24,000 units for its upcoming Model X crossover SUV set to roll out to the markets this coming September.
Around this time, 44,000 units are pretty much in the bag for Tesla and it has less than five months to selling or pre-selling 11,000 units and the company is confident that it can do so and meet its target deliveries for the year.
The good news is that more than the expected additional Model S units to be sold for the remainder of the year, Tesla is actually optimistic that a good portion of the balance from the given target will be provided for by the Model X.
In fact, as a result of the massive pre-order on the Model X, it has been reported in June that Tesla has reportedly increased production rates at its Fremont manufacturing facility. The eyewitness account of the factory pretty much confirms such report.
There have also been previous reports that Tesla Motors is on a hiring binge for people although it is likely that those positions are intended for its $5 billion Tesla Gigafactory 1 currently under construction at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County in Nevada slated to become operational by next year or 2017.
I’m guessing the Model X can’t be produced for anything near half the cost of the Model S, and that that’s why there have been years of unexplained delays. If so, Tesla will not last into 2017. It needs a profitable low cost Model X to survive. The problem may be that the production costs just aren’t cooperating.