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Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Tesla said Wednesday it is still on pace to turn a profit at the end of 2018 after experiencing second-quarter losses. Tesla lost $743 million on sales of $4 billion in the second quarter, which ended June 30, and lost $3.06 per share on an adjusted basis excluding stock compensation, which exceeded analysts' projections, The New York Times reported.
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The California-based car company's stock rose by up to 11 percent in after-hours trading and CEO Elon Musk said Tesla is still expected to achieve the goal of generating profit in the third and fourth quarters. He warned of "negative pressures" from higher import duties, though, on Chinese components due to President Donald Trump's trade war with China.
Tesla had $2.2 billion in cash on hand at the end of the second quarter after its net decrease fell to $436 million from $745 million in the first quarter and the company expects its cash total to grow in the second half of the year, CNBC reported. Tesla also said it expects to spend less than $2.5 billion in capital expenditures in 2018, down from $3.4 billion in 2017.
The company reached a milestone in late June by producing 5,000 Tesla Model 3 vehicles in a week and said it was able to maintain that pace of production "multiple times" in July.
Overall Tesla was able to produce 53,339 vehicles in the second quarter in addition to delivering 40,768 vehicles, including 22,319 Model S luxury vehicles and 18,449 Model 3 vehicles.
Despite production running several months behind schedule, Tesla is seeking to produce 6,000 vehicles per week and 10,000 per week by the end of the year.
"A total vehicle output of 7,000 vehicles per week, or 350,000 per year, should enable Tesla to become sustainably profitable for the first time in our history," the company said.
Last month, Tesla announced plans to open new production factory in China, which the company hopes will eventually produce 500,000 vehicles a year.
