What happened
Shares of electric-car company Tesla (TSLA 1.63%) moved higher Monday, rising as much as 6%. At 11:28 EDT, shares were up 5%. The stock's gain follows a letter from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to employees over the weekend that said the company was ready to report its best quarter ever.
Also, one analyst notably reiterated an outperform rating on Tesla stock on Monday.
Model 3. Image source: Tesla.
So what
Musk told employees on Friday afternoon that its third quarter, which comes to a close at the end of September, will be "the most amazing quarter in our history," featuring double the vehicle production and deliveries Tesla achieved in Q2. The growth, Musk said, represents "the most mind-blowing growth in the history of the automotive industry."
Tesla also made headlines on Monday after Baird analyst Ben Kallo called Tesla a "Fresh Pick" (via CNBC). "[W]e believe strong fundamentals should drive shares higher," Kallo said. More specifically, the analyst said he sees Tesla's Gigafactory and its manufacturing as competitive advantages that will help keep competitors at bay as the company drives down costs with economies of scale.
Now what
Tesla predicted it would report a profit and be cash flow positive in both Q3 and Q4. To do this, however, management has said the company would need to achieve -- and sustain -- a production rate for Model 3 of 5,000 units per week.
Tesla will report its quarterly vehicle deliveries early next month.
