Tesla CEO Elon Musk certainly isn’t one to shy away from making big promises.
On the company’s earnings call Wednesday, the billionaire entrepreneur said his company was on track to perform a coast-to-coast autonomous drive in three months and that he might set a goal of producing a million units a year of the as-yet-unveiled Model Y compact SUV. .
That target might be surprising to some, given that the electric automaker has fallen well short of production targets for its newest Model 3 vehicle. The company, which originally expected to make 5,000 of the cars *a week,* only delivered 1,550 in total during the fourth quarter.
Still Christian Prenzler, vice president of business development at Teslarati, says, the high expectations are par for the course for the chief executive.
“We’re talking about Elon Musk. Yesterday, he’s launching the world’s most powerful rocket and then lands it,” he told Cheddar after earnings. “It’s not a matter of if he can deliver these vehicles, it’s a matter of whether it’s going to happen in this quarter, the next quarter, or in the following quarter.”
“It’s mostly about how Tesla’s going to tackle these challenges over the next year as they ramp up production.”
Tesla said it still expects to make 5,000 Model 3s a week by the end of the second quarter, a target set in January after already being pushed back a few times before that. The company has faced issues with inexperienced workers and in the production of batteries used in the cars. And some analysts fear that as it tries to ramp up manufacturing, it’s going to quickly burn through the $3.4 billion in cash it has on its balance sheet.
For the fourth quarter, Tesla reported its biggest ever loss of $675 million. In after-hours trading, Tesla shares were basically unchanged at $344, having closed at $345.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
