Tesla shares jumped more than 10 percent Thursday after the company reported earnings for the second quarter.
Investors seemed to cheer the fact that the electric automaker burned through less cashー$739.5 million in Q2 compared to $1 billion the quarter beforeーand that CEO Elon Musk behaved himself: the billionaire began the earnings call by apologizing to analysts for his ["bad manners"](https://cheddar.com/videos/elon-musk-combative-with-analysts-may-have-a-point?utm_source=All+Subs&utm_campaign=5c55c38d33-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_01_06_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4b7ac66387-5c55c38d33-121269037) three months ago, which accelerated after-market gains in the stock.
Other positives from Tesla's earnings: the company said it expects to manufacture more than 6,000 of Model 3s a week by the end of the month and that most factories would be able to produce 10,000 cars a week by the end of the year.
That would be a big step toward achieving profitabilityーMusk has said that sustained production of the Model 3 is essential for increasing cash flow and cutting losses. The company ended the quarter with about $2.2 billion in cash on its balance sheet, suggesting it has just enough to get through the year.
Still, Tesla did post a bigger loss than expectedー$3.06 a share versus an estimated $2.92ーand Musk acknowledged the company would need to raise capital to fund its planned expansion to Shanghai.
In all, the company produced more than 53,000 carsーModel 3s, Model Ss, and Model Xsーduring the second quarter, and delivered almost 41,000 vehicles. It also took a restructuring charge for cutting its workforce by 9 percent.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/tesla-stocks-rise-after-earnings-report).
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
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