Tesla Motors (TSLA) reported largely in-line Q1 results last night after the company preannounced Q1 deliveries below guidance last month due to Model X production issues. More importantly, Tesla announced very aggressive production targets that seemingly make a capital raise inevitable.
Encouragingly, production has picked up and demand for the Model S accelerated in Q1, with orders up 45% year over year.
Tesla now plans to build 500K vehicles (Model S, X and 3) in 2018, two years earlier than previously planned. Tesla is planning to build 100-200K Model 3s in the second half of 2017. Elon Musk said there is a high probability you will receive your Model 3 in 2018 if you place a reservation right now. Before last night's news, analysts may have assumed a new reservation wouldn't land you a Model 3 until 2019.
Notably, many were skeptical that Tesla could hit the 500K target in 2020.
As a result, Tesla raised operating expense (to 20-25% growth from +20%) and capital expenditure guidance (~50% from $1.5 billion previously) and backed off its non-GAAP profitability and positive free cash flow targets for 2016.
Both the Bulls and Bears have something to chew on by this news. Bears will say it's an unrealistic product target that will require an excessively dilutive capital raise. But TSLA bulls have faith in their ambitious CEO. Successful execution will put the company even further ahead of the incumbent auto makers in the electric vehicle market and even the tech giants like Apple and Google planning an entrance in the auto market.
Tesla is now even more so a story of manufacturing execution. Much faith is required in Elon Musk, especially at this $28 billion valuation.
Tesla shares are 5% lower today after Elon Musk raised the stakes yet again and signaled an inevitable capital raise.