Elon Musk tells Tesla to ‘ignore distractions,’ hints at profitability

Beck Diefenbach | Reuters

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. 

Elon Musk believes Tesla is “very close” to turning a profit after years of burning through cash, but warned that Sunday would prove pivotal to the car marker achieving an “epic victory” on its production goals.

On the heels of a turbulent last few weeks that culminated in Tesla reaching a settlement with securities regulators, the company is expected to report third quarter production numbers this week.

In two emails obtained by CNBC, Musk exhorted staffers to “ignore the distractions” and that the company was close to “proving naysayers wrong.” With Sunday being the end of the quarter, Musk said that Tesla must go “all out” on production in order to “achieve a victory beyond all expectations.”

A report in Electrek suggested Tesla has already met an ambitious benchmark for its Model 3, after setting a production record in the second quarter. The publication reported that Tesla has already broken its record ahead of the third quarter’s close, suggesting it would exceed guidance of 50,000 – 55,000 Model 3s.

Meanwhile, investors on Monday will also digest Tesla’s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the company’s brief flirtation with going private. On Saturday, regulators announced that both Musk and the company would be fined $20 million each, and the billionaire would be forced to give up his role as chairman of the board while remaining CEO.

Below are the two emails Musk sent to staff:

Friday, September 28:

Ignore all distractions. One more hardcore weekend and we will all be victorious.

Thanks for being amazing.

Elon

Sunday, September 30:

We are very close to achieving profitability and proving the naysayers wrong, but to be certain, we must execute really well tomorrow (Sunday).

If we go all out tomorrow, we will achieve an epic victory beyond all expectations.

Go Tesla!!

Thanks for all your hard work,

Elon