---
title: "Tesla Delivered a Record 25,021 Cars Last Quarter, But Still Lost Money"
description: "Tesla says it set a delivery record in the first piece of 2017, but the company still has many unfulfilled goals."
date: "2017-05-04"
modified: "2017-05-04"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/tech/9951/tesla-delivered-a-record-25021-cars-last-quarter-but-still-lost-money"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "model 3"
  - "stock"
  - "Tech"
  - "Tesla"
---

# Tesla Delivered a Record 25,021 Cars Last Quarter, But Still Lost Money

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/05/tesla-model-s-hero-image.jpg>)
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Tesla said it delivered 25,021 cars in the first quarter of 2017. That's up 64 percent from the same period a year ago, and a new record, according to the automaker. It also puts Tesla on track to meet a short-term goal of delivering 47,000 to 50,000 electric cars in the first half of this year. But the company still lost money in the first quarter, and still has the [all-important Model 3](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2817/a-first-look-at-the-brilliant-tesla-model-3>) launch ahead of it.

In its [quarterly earnings statement](<https://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-4CW8X0/4408378419x0x940721/8E9FC98F-343C-4D2E-8516-491DEFB9B69B/TSLA_Q1_2017_Update_Letter.pdf>), Tesla said revenue more than doubled over the same period in 2016, from $1.15 billion to $2.70 billion. However, Tesla's losses also widened, from $282.3 million in Q1 2016 to $330.3 million in 2017. Tesla said the increased losses were primarily attributable to its acquisition of SolarCity, foreign currency translation, loss attributable to non-controlling interests, and non-cash interest expense.

The financial results come shortly after Tesla's market capitalization exceeded that of Ford and General Motors, [making it the most valuable U.S. automaker](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/9148/tesla-passes-gm-to-become-americas-most-valuable-car-company>). The rise in stock prices is based largely on investors' hope that Tesla will achieve its goal of launching the $35,000 Model 3 later this year and successfully build 500,000 cars per year by 2018, rather than the company's current performance.

The Tesla letter said Model 3 development is "nearly complete," and that the company is currently testing so-called "release candidate" cars built using production-spec tooling for fit and finish. Tesla expects to [unveil the finished product in July,](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/9289/tesla-model-3-be-revealed-in-final-form-in-july-elon-musk-says>) build 5,000 cars per week "at some point in 2017" and ramp up to 10,000 cars a week "at some point in 2018."

Those numbers sound a bit vague, considering the tight timeframes Tesla has to work with. Because it will cost around half as much as the Model S and Model X, the Model 3 will provide the bulk of the volume for Tesla's 500,000-unit annual production goal. Tesla has missed every one of its deadlines for new car launches so far, and a slow or delayed rollout of the Model 3 would have a major impact on the planned expansion. Keep in mind that Tesla only delivered 76,230 cars in 2016.

Tesla has said it will focus more on [improving the manufacturing process](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/9693/tesla-readies-factory-for-large-scale-model-3-production-in-july>) for the Model 3, to ensure that things go smoothly. The Model 3 will [likely also be less high-tech](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/8605/tesla-model-3-will-be-more-affordable-less-high-tech-than-model-s-elon-musk-says>) than the Model S and Model X, making it simpler and thus easier to manufacture. But given how much Tesla has riding on the Model 3 launch, even a small delay could have big consequences.

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)