Tesla Motors Inc. said it delivered 11,507 Model S sedans in the
second quarter of the year, a 52% increase over the prior-year
period and a company record.
But to meet Chief Executive Elon Musk's ambitious sales goal of
55,000 deliveries in 2015, the company will have to see an uptick
of growth in the second half of the year.
Tesla reported 10,030 deliveries in the first quarter.
If Tesla is able to meet Mr. Musk's goals, which also include
500,000 deliveries by 2020, the benchmarks would transform Tesla's
profile in the cutthroat car business. While a fraction of what is
sold annually by most auto makers in the world, Tesla's is an
audacious goal for a company that started mass-producing
automobiles just a few years ago.
To reach his target, Tesla's billionaire founder needs a
flawless debut of a new model— the Model X sport-utility vehicle—in
the second half of the year.
To date, Mr. Musk has struggled to hit projections and launch
vehicles that meet initial timing or pricing expectations, so the
Model X's launch poses a test of Tesla's ability to make the leap
from niche to mainstream.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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