Tesla is a big name in the electric car market but that doesn’t mean everything is running smoothly for the company, a new report based on the operating losses the company posted recently finds that Tesla is losing as much as $4,000 on each car sold. Even in a bull market for luxury cars the company ended up burning $359 million in cash during the last quarter. Tesla has already cut its production targets for 2015 and 2016 as it looks to slow down the rate at which it’s burning through cash in hand.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has already said that he’s not opposed to raising more capital for the company and may even consider selling more stock, Musk promises that by the first quarter of 2016 Tesla will be generating enough money to go from making one expensive car in low volume to multiple models in high volume. The company will also expand a venture to produce electric power storage systems like the Powerwall.
The report points out that Tesla’s cash in hand was down to $1.15 billion as of June 30 as opposed to $2.67 billion during the same period last year. Tesla plans $1.5 billion capital spending in 2015 with most of it earmarked for the Model X launch.
Tesla has also reiterated its aim of launching the Model 3 by 2017, the Model 3 is going to make the company’s electric cars accessible to a broader range of customers since it’s likely to cost around $35,000. The company aims to sell 500,000 electric cars per annum by the year 2020 and may also jump into the ridesharing business at some point in the future.