Elon Musk says don’t worry about Tesla’s burn rate—he might be right

Enlarge / Elon Musk speaks at the 68th International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide on September 29, 2017. (credit: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)

A lot of people are worried about how quickly Tesla is burning through cash. In a Monday story, Bloomberg extrapolated Tesla's recent cash burn rate—$3.48 billion over the last 12 months, or $6,500 per minute—to estimate that Tesla might run out of cash before the end of 2018.

Tesla has had to raise billions of dollars to fund the development and manufacturing of its cars, batteries, and other technology. At the end of 2017, Tesla had $9.4 billion in outstanding debt, requiring hundreds of millions of dollars in annual interest payments. With no profits in sight, pessimists worry that Tesla will find it difficult to raise still more money—money it may need to complete its production ramp-up of the Model 3.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk insists that there's nothing to worry about. "Tesla will be profitable & cash flow+ in Q3 & Q4, so obv no need to raise money," he tweeted last month.