Elon Musk says Tesla is only building the Model S and Model X for 'sentimental reasons'

• Elon Musk says Tesla's only making the Model S and X for "sentimental reasons."
• The comments come as the company looks to its new Model Y, and continued sales of its Model 3 sedan.
• "They're really niche products," he said. "I mean, they're very expensive, made in low volume."
• Tesla on Thursday reported a surprise third-quarter profit that blew past Wall Street earnings estimates.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tesla's two most expensive cars are only being made for "sentimental reasons," Elon Musk said Wednesday.

"The Model S and X are really niche," the CEO said on Tesla's third-quarter earnings call, after the company handily topped Wall Street's financial estimates for the period.

"They're really niche products," he continued. "I mean, they're very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we're continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They're really of minor importance to the future."

The statement aligns somewhat with Musk's public statements about Tesla's Model 3 being the company's flagship product for the years to come.

Musk also hinted at big plans for the company's forthcoming Model Y crossover on the call, saying he now expects to reach full production of 1,000 units per week in the summer of 2020 instead of the fall as originally planned.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm from Musk on the Model S and X, CFO Zach Kirkhorn clarified that Tesla is "increasing production on our S and X lines for this quarter in response to increasing demand."

"I think part of the story here is, as we have launched, ramped and stabilized Model 3, that's kind of consumed a lot of the attention around the company," he said. "But now as that has stabilized, we're able to focus our attention and balance that between S and X and Model 3."

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• Tesla returns to profitability and tops Wall Street's Q3 earnings expectations