上周三股市收盤后，特斯拉公司將公布今年第三季度財報。CEO伊隆·馬斯克可能會談及年終銷量目標，以及位于內華達州雷諾市的大型電池工廠的建設情況，還有可能談及公司在波多黎各等地建設的能源存儲和太陽能項目等。

然而大家最關心的還是Model 3車型的量產。特別特斯拉計劃怎樣提高該車型的產能，以及怎樣避免上次提升產能時犯的種種錯誤——比如去年特斯拉為了滿足Model X的產能目標，曾直接導致了勞資糾紛的出現和工傷率的上升。

特斯拉的產能問題在10月初就已經暴露出來了。據該公司稱，今年三季度，該公司僅生產了260輛Model 3電動汽車，交并付了其中的220輛。這意味著特斯拉和馬斯克已經食言了。馬斯克個人曾表示，他預計今年8月Model 3的產量大約在100輛左右，而9月就將達到1,500輛以上。

幾天后，《華爾街日報》援引匿名人士消息稱，直到今年9月，Model 3的一些主要部件還是由手工制造的，而不是自動生產線的產品。

據奧本海默公司（Oppenheimer & Co）十月中旬稱，Model 3的產能問題主要是由于少數供應商沒能按時供應零部件造成的。奧本海默公司還表示，其中至少一家供應商已經被特斯拉炒了魷魚。不過也有人對這種說法表示質疑，認為產能問題出在特斯拉自己身上。

Model 3的產能問題不僅僅是自動化的問題，也有資金和工人的問題。在周三的收益電話會議上，馬斯克估計會被專門問到這兩個方面。現金流的問題更是尤其重要。

據瑞銀分析師科林·蘭根稱，今年第二季度，特斯拉已經燒掉了12億美元現金。然后它通過發債又融到了18億美元，目前特斯拉手里的現金約有50億左右。

據巴克萊銀行預計，今年三季度，特斯拉大概花掉了16億美元左右的現金，基本上將該公司最近靠發債借來的18億美元和SolarCity公司的現金流抵消了。

當然，除了Model 3以外，特斯拉還有其他一些問題，特別是“增強版Autopilot”功能什么時候能有像前一代的Autopilot 1一樣的功能呢？消費者要為“增強版Autopilot”多花5000美元，它提供了一些高級駕駛員輔助功能，不過有人也把它稱為“半自動”。它能讓特斯拉車型保持在車道內行進，并且根據交通情況調整車速，以及自動變道等等，這些功能可以在駕駛員不介入的情況下自動完成。

但是如果消費者想要完全版的自動駕駛功能，就要額外再掏3000美元了。而且巴克萊銀行分析師布萊恩·約翰遜也在本周二的一份研究紀要中指出，不少特斯拉的粉絲已經意識到，目前在媒體中還看不到任何跡象表明完全版的自動駕駛功能何時能正式面世。

最后，讓我們回顧一下今年二季度特斯拉財報的看點。

? 特斯拉當季收益上漲，超過華爾街預期；高端全電動車型Model S和SUV車型Model X的出貨量也呈上漲態勢。

? 特斯拉的股東凈損失從一年前的2.932億美元上漲到3.364億美元。如果按每股計算，則由2.09美元縮窄到2.04美元。

? 當季營收從一季度的27億美元上漲至27.9億美元，超過了分析師25.1億美元的平均預期。

? 營收入較2016年同期的12.7億美元上漲近一倍。（財富中文網）

譯者：賈政景

Tesla reports third-quarter earnings Wednesday after the market closes. Tesla CEO Elon Musk will likely talk about year-end delivery goals, the company’s massive battery factory in near Reno, Nevada, maybe even its energy storage and solar efforts in places like Puerto Rico.

But all anyone really cares about is Model 3 production. Specifically, what it will take to get more of these mass-market electric cars off the line and into customers’ driveways and the company’s strategy to avoid the same mistakes it made during previous vehicle production ramp ups. For instance, labor unrest and a rise in worker injuries emerged in 2016 as a direct result of Tesla trying to meet ambitious production targets it set for the Model X sport utility vehicle.

Tesla’s production problems were revealed in early October when the automaker reported it had produced just 260 of its new Model 3 electric cars in the third quarter, of which it delivered 220. It was a dramatic miss for Tesla and Musk, who personally predicted that the company would produce about 100 Model 3 cars in August and more than 1,500 in September.

Days later the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, published a damning report that as recently as September major portions of the Model 3 were being built by hand, not an automated production line.

Tesla’s Model 3 production problems stem from a small number of suppliers that have failed to deliver on time, according to Oppenheimer & Co., which issued an analyst note in mid-October. The note said at at least one of those suppliers has been fired. However, some dispute those claims, noting that Tesla was to blame.

Ramping up Model 3 production is not just an automation conundrum. It’s a money and labor problem as well. Expect Musk to be asked specifically about these two areas during the earnings call Wednesday. The cash outlook question will be particularly important.

Tesla burned through about $1.2 billion in cash in the second quarter. Then it sought to raise some $1.8 billion through a bond offering, leaving it with about $5 billion or so in cash, says UBS analyst Colin Langan.

Barclays expects Tesla will report it burned through $1.6 billion in the third quarter, numbers offset by its recent $1.8 billion debt raise and likely sale of SolarCity project cash flows.

There are of course, other issues and questions beyond Model 3, notably when will Tesla’s “enhanced Autopilot” feature have the same capabilities as its previous generation Autopilot 1 version? Tesla charges $5,000 for enhanced Autopilot, which provides several advanced driver assistance features that when combined provides what some describe as “semi-autonomous” capabilities. It’s supposed to allow Tesla vehicles to drive keep within a lane, match speed to traffic conditions, and automatically change lanes without requiring help from the driver.

Tesla charges another $3,000 for full self-driving capability, and there are no signs of that coming anytime soon, ” – a point recognized now by some of Tesla’s fans in the media,” Barclays analyst Brian Johnson said in a research note Tuesday.

As a refresher, here’s a snapshot of Tesla’s second quarter earningsended June 30.

? Tesla’s quarterly revenue expanded and beat Wall Street’s estimates, as deliveries of its high-end all-electric Model S sedans and sports utility vehicle Model X grew.

? Tesla’s net losses attributable to shareholders widened to $336.4 million from $293.2 million a year earlier. On a per share basis, net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed to $2.04 from $2.09.

? Revenue rose to $2.79 billion from $2.7 billion in the first quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.51 billion.

? Revenue was more than double the $1.27 billion Tesla earned during the same quarter in 2016.