(Reuters) - Shares of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) jumped 10 percent in premarket trade on Thursday, after the company convinced investors that it was able to produce positive cash flow and turn a profit, and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk apologized for past incendiary remarks.
Elon Musk speaks at a Boring Company community meeting in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, U.S. May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Musk in a conference call on Wednesday, addressing the company’s largest quarterly loss to date, said the electric car maker would not need to raise more cash and that capital expenses would be slightly below $2.5 billion in 2018, lower than most analysts’ estimates.
But it was his remorse for prior remarks to analysts that highlighted the call. Previously, he insulted some analysts - turning off investors and shareholders, and knocking $2 billion off the company’s market cap.
“I would like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call. Honestly, I think there is really no excuse for bad manners. I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard,” he said.
In the previous quarter, Musk called questions posed by two analysts “boring” and “boneheaded”, and refused to answer them.
This quarter, not only was Musk’s tone non-confrontational, but he apologized to both analysts.
The results could be a boon for the stock, as it is set to gain about $5 billion at the open.
“Elon’s tone was generally improved vs. last quarter, which may seem trivial, but TSLA stock has become somewhat of an Elon sentiment gauge,” RBC analysts said.
Musk reiterated a target of producing 6,000 Model 3 sedans per week by late August. After Tesla produced 5,000 per week in July following several delays in reaching that target,
