Tesla hits Model 3 goals, plans to make 6,000 a week by end of August

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A Tesla Model 3 car is on display during the Auto China 2018 at China International Exhibition Center on April 25, 2018 in Beijing, China. 

Tesla said in a second quarter earnings update on Wednesday that it has repeatedly produced 5,000 Model 3 electric sedans in a week. Previously, the company said it would have to hit a weekly run-rate of 5,000 Model 3’s to become profitable, long-term.

Tesla made 53,339 vehicles in the second quarter, delivering 22,319 Model S and Model X vehicles and 18,449 Model 3 vehicles to customers, totaling 40,768 deliveries, according to the earnings release.

Tesla said it aims to increase its weekly run-rate for Model 3s to 6,000 by late August while ironing out issues in its factories “selectively” to address bottlenecks, rather than building any additional production lines.

Tesla is not yet selling the base Model 3 which it promised to sell for $35,000. It has only been selling much more expensive variants thus far, including versions that cost between $49,000 and $78,000.

In its update Wednesday, Tesla said Model 3 gross margins “turned slightly positive in Q2,” and would rise to roughly 15% in the next quarter. The automaker’s gross margin for its newest line had been negative in the first quarter.

The company’s stock was up 4 percent after hours on the report.