Tesla wants refunds from suppliers to hit profitability

Tesla wants refunds from suppliers to hit profitability

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Tesla has asked some of its suppliers to refund some of the money it had spent with them in the past in increase its profitability and improve its liquidity.

In a memo issued to suppliers, Tesla said those who offered the cash back would be investing in the company’s long-term growth. Company CEO Elon Musk stated on his official Twitter account that any refunds from suppliers would only involve those from Q3 and beyond would be counted. “It would not be correct to apply historical cost savings to current quarter,” Musk tweeted.

The company also issued a statement saying it is “focused on reaching a more sustainable long term cost basis, not just finding one-time reductions for this quarter.” It continues by stating, “we asked fewer than 10 suppliers for a reduction in total capex (capital expenditure) spending for long-term projects that began in 2016 but are still not complete, and any changes with these suppliers would improve our future cash flows, but not impact our ability to achieve profitability in Q3.”

Such a move is another step in strengthening the company’s financial position, which appears to be shaky following the announcement of the company’s Q1 2018 financial results in May. Since then, the company’s initiatives include implementing cost-cutting measures and attracting more investors.

While it attempts to sort its books out, the company will also have to focus on increasing production levels of the Model 3, building a new global plant in China and introducing a slew of new models (Roadster, Semi, Model Y and even a pick-up truck).

News of Tesla seeking refunds from its suppliers didn’t resonate well in the stock market, as the company’s shares fell by more than 3%. On August 1, the company will reveal its Q2 2018 financial results, where we will see what improvements have been achieved from April till June.

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Gerard Lye

Originating from the corporate world with a background in finance and economics, Gerard’s strong love for cars led him to take the plunge into the automotive media industry. It was only then did he realise that there are more things to a car than just horsepower count.

 

Comments

  • tokmoh. on Jul 24, 2018 at 12:46 pm

    Geely should make preparation. Next target : Tesla!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
    • lilytan on Jul 24, 2018 at 2:15 pm

      Geely alredi acquired Daimler to access EV battery tech

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • It takes more than battery. While other car maker purely focus on battery and performance, Tesla doing more than that. When study in details, it’s a tech smart evolution. Example when you could take control like placing your house key or anything for someone to collect your stuff from your car boot while you oversea where you could control the lock through your smart phone.
        You could also upgrade the performance or improve existing feature for example aircond where it can enhance the coldness.
        If you’d experience owning a Tesla, you could just update the car features just like update your apps in your phone. I couldn’t find any other car makers that could build a car as smart, in evolution way as Tesla.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
        • Heng Lee on Jul 25, 2018 at 11:10 am

          Other manufacturers won’t let you control their cars over the internet for a good reason: Ever heard of hackers/hacking?

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
          • Same L00 on Jul 25, 2018 at 3:11 pm

            If Proton did the same thing, it wouldn’t have been sold to China.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • P1, Geely, Mesidis, VolvoCar, Tesla, VolvoTruck, Lotus > all

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • Same L00 on Jul 25, 2018 at 3:10 pm

        Sendiri Cakap
        Sendiri Syok
        Sentiasa Rosak
        Setup hari Sales >all

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Meanwhile P1Geely demanding for 30% price reduction alredi bring down old gov for Kawans to setup P1 2.0 project.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
 

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