Tesla’s first quarter revenue doubles

Electric-car maker Tesla yesterday posted its first-quarter revenue that more than doubled over, and while saying the upcoming Model 3 was on schedule for July, it downplayed the mass-market vehicle to give a sales pitch for its more expensive Model S.

Chief executive Elon Musk's bold initiative in cars, space exploration and clean energy had helped the company gain traction with investors, but sceptics were waiting to see if Musk could fulfill his promise of producing 500,000 cars per year in 2018, or six times Tesla's 2016 production.

Shares retreated around 2 per cent in after-hours trade following the results.

According to commentators, the automaker's comments underscored the additional challenge of keeping up demand for its older models.

"We have seen some impact of Model S orders as a function of people being confused" that Model 3 is the upgrade to Model S, Musk said on a conference call.

According to Tesla, it had $4 billion of cash on hand at the start of the second quarter and expected year-to-date capital expenditures to be slightly more than $2 billion by the time it started Model 3 production - within its previous targeted range of $2 billion to $2.5 billion.

According to Musk, Tesla was on track to roll out  5,000 Model 3 sedans later this year and 10,000 a week next year. The Model 3 would be  Tesla's third vehicle and the first to be priced dramatically lower than its current luxury sedan and SUV.

Musk said the Model 3 would be followed by another vehicle, the Model Y in 2019 or 2020.

The number or reservations for the Model 3 was more than 400,000 and more continued to roll in even without the company's encouragement.

"We 'anti-sell' the Model 3," Musk told investors on his first quarter earnings call. Yet "reservations continue to climb week after week."