Tesla’s Musk calls on workers in to help company break even in second quarter

Tesla chief Elon Musk in an internal email called on employees to work hard to allow the electric car maker to break even in the second quarter despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The rallying cry has become a familiar theme in recent quarters at Tesla, with Musk calling on employees to quickly build and deliver vehicles at the end of the quarter to achieve specific targets.

“Breaking even is looking super tight. Really makes a difference for every car you build and deliver. Please go all out to ensure victory!” Musk wrote in the Monday email seen by Reuters.

Electric vehicle site Electrek first reported the news. Tesla shares rose 5.2% to close at $1,009.35 on the Nasdaq on Monday.

The automaker is expected to report second-quarter delivery numbers this week.

Analysts on average expect the company to deliver roughly 74,000 vehicles in the months from April to June, according to Refinitiv data.

Much of the United States was under some form of lockdown orders during that time, which caused auto sales to plummet.

Tesla in April surprised investors when it said production and delivery of its new sport utility vehicle, Model Y, was significantly ahead of schedule despite the virus outbreak. The company delivered 88,400 vehicles in the first quarter.

Production at Tesla’s only U.S. vehicle factory in California was shut down for more than six weeks from the end of March to early May due to local lockdown orders aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.

(Reporting by Neha Malara in Bengaluru and Tina Bellon in Warwick, R.I.; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis)

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