Tesla burns through $740M in Q2

Electric car maker Tesla Inc. burned through $739.5 million US in cash last quarter, paving the way to a company record $717.5 million net loss as it cranked out more electric cars.

But CEO Elon Musk pledged to post net profits in future quarters, and on a conference call, he apologized to two analysts he cut off on the company’s firstquarter call. Telsa’s shares jumped 9.3 per cent to $328.85 US in after-hours trading.

The net loss more than doubled from the same quarter a year ago, and was slightly larger than the first quarter. But Tesla’s cash burn in the second quarter slowed from about $1.1 billion.

On the call, Musk also said he expects the company to avoid returning to the markets for capital and to be “essentially selffunding on a go-forward basis.” Tesla would use money generated from sales to fund big projects such as an estimated $2 billion new factory in China and another plant in Europe, he said.

The company also said that Model 3 gross profit margins turned slightly positive during the quarter as it worked out expensive kinks in its manufacturing system.

Last quarter, Musk mistreated two analysts by calling their queries about the company’s cash needs and Model 3 orders “so dry” and “not cool.” The call triggered a stock selloff and raised questions about Musk’s behaviour.

But on Wednesday, a contrite Musk apologized to both and said he was tired from working more than 110 hours per week last quarter. “It’s not right,” he told an analyst from RBC Capital Markets. “Hope you accept my apologies.”