Tesla Shareholder Meeting Confirms Musk's Leadership and Model 3 Production Push
Tesla's annual shareholder meeting sees Elon Musk retain his chairman role while he emotionally defends the company's production goals and mission. The automaker also maintains its forecast for positive cash flow without raising additional capital.
Tesla holds a relatively calm annual shareholder meeting where investors vote to keep Elon Musk as chairman and re-elect the current board members. This decision directly rejects proposals from some shareholders and proxy advisors who push for an independent leader and the removal of Musk's brother from the board.
Musk shows visible emotion while discussing the intense difficulties of scaling Model 3 production, noting that the assembly lines currently build 3,500 cars per week. He confidently predicts that this number will soon reach 5,000 units per week by the end of the month, describing the recent manufacturing ramp-up as an excruciating experience. He also passionately defends Tesla's core mission, stating that the company builds its cars with love and soul unlike traditional automakers.
Despite recent financial concerns and slumping stock prices, Tesla reaffirms its plan to avoid raising additional cash or equity. Musk insists that the company expects to generate positive GAAP net income and positive cash flow in the third and fourth quarters, a forecast that helps boost the company's shares in after-hours trading following the event.