Could another missed production goal be enough to really change investors’ tune on Tesla? Todd Lassa, Detroit Bureau Chief at Automobile Magazine, says falling short on Model 3 deliveries again might deal a blow to the electric automaker’s reputation. “I think that it’ll affect perception more than bottom line, I think bottom line has always been troublesome over at Tesla,” he said. “We’re basically getting what we’ve always got from Elon Musk, but I think it’s finally starting to catch up to him.” He points out that he’s long expressed concerns over Tesla’s ability to make money off its cars. In fact Tesla has only posted two profitable quarters in its nearly ten years as a public company, and in its most recent report it announced its biggest ever loss of more than $600 million. It’s only been in the last few months, though, that the stock has pulled back, down 20 percent since hitting a record high in September. “Maybe the investment community is catching up with us,” Lassa said. Tesla has been spending heavily to match its aggressive production agenda, but some analysts aren’t convinced those efforts will pay off. KeyBanc Capital earlier this week slashed its forecast for Model 3 deliveries in the fourth quarter from 15,000 to 5,000. To put that in perspective, Tesla originally said it would be rolling out 5,000 of the mass-market vehicles *each week* by the end of the year. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/teslas-model-3-outlook-slashed).

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Tesla’s profit fell in third quarter even as sales rose
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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