Tesla earnings: 3 things to watch after a messy, messy quarter

It’s been a bananas quarter for Tesla.

Amid further problems at its factory, the company failed to meet promised first-quarter production goals for the Model 3 of 2,500 vehicles per week. On top of that, Tesla was removed from a National Transportation Safety Bureau investigation into a fatal crash of one its vehicles after CEO Elon Musk noted in a blog post that the driver didn’t have his hands on the wheel six seconds prior to the crash. Musk also made a quip about going bankrupt—a poorly timed joke that was dead on arrival, especially after Bloomberg estimated that his company burns $6,500 a minute.

Suffice to say, there will be a lot of eyes on Tesla’s quarterly earnings report this afternoon. Here are three things to watch:

 Losses. Last quarter, Tesla took a $675 million loss. In 2018, capital expenditures are expected to grow as the company funnels more cash into production. (In addition to the Model S, X, and 3, the company has promised new vehicles including a second generation Roadster and an electric truck.)
Model 3. Recently, the company has been producing roughly 2,250 Model 3s per week, but Musk has promised 5,000 per week. Though the waggish CEO plans to hit that goal within the second quarter, he will probably issue further guidance (read: make new promises) around the company’s most affordable vehicle.
Energy. When Tesla acquired Solar City, it took on $2.9 billion worth of debt. Look for insight into when and how this will be repaid. Also, keep an eye on growth in sales of its energy-generating and storage products.