Tesla is offering free supercharging to people who buy Model S and X cars it has in stock
- Tesla announced Friday that buyers who take delivery of a Model S or X by June 30 from the company's inventory will receive free unlimited Supercharging.
- It's possibly a move by Tesla to help cars get marked as delivered by the end of the quarter.
- In previous reporting periods, Tesla has recruited workers from various business units to help with deliveries.
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As the second quarter winds down, Tesla is looking to entice new buyers to take some inventory vehicles off its hands.
The electric automaker tweeted Friday that it's offering unlimited free Supercharging to customers who buy a Model S or Model X that's currently in inventory until June 30.
That date is key. The second quarter will come to a close at the end of June, and Tesla can only record vehicles sold, and thus recognize the revenue on the top line of its balance sheet when a customer takes delivery of the vehicle.
As the company entered the second half of the three-month period this month, clues began to surface that this quarter would be no different when it comes to delivering as many cars as possible. In previous quarters, Tesla has asked employees from various business units to pitch in and help deliver cars before the deadline.
Last week, Elon Musk told Tesla employees in an email seen by Business Insider that the company still had "a lot of vehicles to catch up to in order to have a successful quarter." He added that he will be holding "skip-level" meetings with delivery teams in America, Asia, and Europe to ensure cars are getting delivered as quickly as possible. You can read the full text of that email here.
Prior to that email, Musk also announced a round of "hardcore" cost-cutting measures which includes management reviewing every page of expense reports.
After sinking back into the red during the first quarter, CFO Zach Kirkhorn told analysts on the earnings conference call that it should return to profitability by the third quarter of 2019.
"The teams are working extremely hard and making terrific progress on improving the cost efficiency of the business without sacrificing growth, and that in combination with the efficiencies from unwinding the wave is where we feel we will be comfortable returning to a place of profitability in Q3 once all of those pieces are in place," he said.
Shares of Tesla have sunk dramatically this quarter, and are now more than 50% off recent highs. The stock was down 1.4% in trading Friday, near $185 per share.
More Tesla news:
- Tesla says the Model 3 will cost about $47,500 in China - 13% cheaper than before
- One of Tesla's most optimistic backers explains why it's doubling down as other investors rush for the exits
- Elon Musk tells Tesla employees in leaked email that the company needs to catch up on car deliveries before the end of the quarter