Elon Musk sends intriguing email to Tesla staff about ‘breaking even’

This is according to a leaked email in which CEO Elon Musk appears to be rallying employees of the electric car manufacturer.

Featuring the subject line "down to the last few days", Musk's email, which was obtained by CNBC, reportedly encouraged staff to "go all out" with vehicle production and deliveries in the last few days of the April-June quarter.

"Breaking even is looking super tight," Musk wrote. "Really makes a difference for every car you build and deliver. Please go all out to ensure victory!"

Tesla is expected to announce its second-quarter delivery numbers this week, with industry analysts predicting everything from a 25 per cent decline year-on-year, to a record-breaking increase despite factory closures and delays.

While most analysts have predicted Tesla's Q2 deliveries to total somewhere between 60,000-75,000 units (which would represent a decline on the last quarter and on the same period last year), a recent report from Electrek cited sources claiming "deliveries in North America have picked up greatly in June, with already more than 50,000 deliveries and almost 10,000 vehicles in transit".

These figures, combined with international deliveries in markets like China, could see Tesla come close to beating its previous Q2 record of 95,000 deliveries set in 2019.

This latest missive from Musk follows another email obtained by Electrek a week earlier in which the CEO cryptically told employees the last week of the quarter was "very important".

"For many reasons, a great deal of Tesla execution worldwide is packed into the final week of the quarter. It is very important that we go all out through end of June 30 to ensure a good outcome. Wouldn’t bring this up if not very important," Musk reportedly wrote.

In May, Tesla defied public health orders by reopening the Fremont, California plant where many of its vehicles are produced after it was closed by public health officials in late March due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Despite this closure, as well as delivery delays due to social distancing restrictions, Tesla began delivering its new Model Y crossover months ahead of schedule in April this year.

As reported by CNBC, Musk's rallying cry could also be driven by the company's efforts to make it onto the S&P 500 stock market index, which requires a company to have four consecutive quarters of profitability to warrant inclusion – Tesla has so far reported three consecutive quarters of profit.

In the first quarter of 2020, Tesla delivered 88,400 vehicles and produced almost 103,000 vehicles, reporting revenue growth of 32 per cent year-on-year and a profit of US$16 million.