Tesla to increase production by 17 per cent this quarter – report

In the email, obtained by website Electrek, Musk reportedly tells employees at the electric vehicle maker to "take whatever steps you can to improve output".

“It will be tough but super exciting if we can exceed 500,000 cars made in a single year for the first time in Tesla history," Musk reportedly wrote.

For comparison, last year, Tesla's total production sum was 365,194 cars.

"When we started Tesla just over 16 years ago, I never thought we would get this far, but, thanks to your hard work and ingenuity, we actually have a chance of making half a million cars in a single year," Musk added.

"It all comes down to Q4. Please take whatever steps you can think of to improve output (while increasing quality)."

Tesla recently announced that its third quarter output for 2020 was 145,000 vehicles, with nearly 140,000 vehicle deliveries, bringing its rolling total for 2020 so far to 329,980 cars produced and 318,687 cars delivered.

That delivery figure marked a record quarter for the company and followed Musk sending a similar rallying cry to employees over email, encouraging

In order for the company to reach its half-a-million production target, it would need to produce 170,020 cars before December 31 this year – a massive 62 per cent increase on its previous quarterly record of 104,891, which was achieved in the fourth quarter of 2019.

It would also mean a 17.2 per cent increase on last quarter's production output, or a 106.65 per cent increase on Q2 2020, when shutdowns at its Californian production site saw a notable decrease in output.

The bulk of Tesla's production occurs at its factory in Fremont, California, but it also has factories in Shanghai, China, and Berlin, Germany.