Elon Musk said that Tesla is close to finally reaching profitability, Bloomberg reports.
In an email sent to Tesla employees just hours after he was axed as chairman under an SEC settlement, Musk said that a strong finish to the third quarter could prove exceptionally important for the automaker.
“We are very close to achieving profitability and proving the naysayers wrong, but, to be certain, we must execute really well tomorrow (Sunday).
“If we go all out tomorrow, we will achieve an epic victory beyond all expectations,” Musk’s email read.
Tesla is known for ramping up shipments and deliveries of its vehicles towards the end of each quarter. Musk clearly wasn’t going to let the negative press around the company in recent days from hampering progress at its production facilities.
On Saturday, he agreed to settle fraud charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after his August tweets about having the funding secured to take Tesla private at $420 a share.
As part of the settlement, Musk has agreed to relinquish the role of chairman at Tesla within 45 days and for a period of at least three years. Additionally, he will pay a $20 million fine out of his own pocket and Tesla will pay an additional $20 million fine.
The agreement was reached just two days after the SEC sued the businessman over his tweets. Neither Tesla nor Musk have to admit wrongdoing under the settlement. The SEC had sought to bar Musk from serving as an officer or director of any public company.
