Tesla announced disappointing revenue figures and shocking news that its longtime head of technology, JB Strauble, is leaving the company.
The news sent Tesla shares into their steepest dive since 2013.
Chief Executive Elon Musk, speaking on a conference call to discuss quarterly results, revealed that Straubel will step down as chief technology officer, but continue to be an advisor to Tesla.
“I’m not disappearing, and I just wanted to make sure that people understand that this was not some, you know, lack of confidence in the company or the team or anything like that,” Straubel said on the call.
Straubel will be replaced by Drew Baglino, a vice president of technology at the company.
In regards to production, Tesla said it has a weekly run-rate of 7,000 units of the Model 3, with a goal of 10,000 Model 3s each week by the end of 2019. But, the company continues to struggle with profitability.
In the second quarter, Tesla lost $1.12 per share on an adjusted basis, compared to the average analyst estimate of 40 cents. Gross margin fell to 14.5% from 15.5% a year ago.
Revenue jumped 59% to $6.35 billion, but missed average analyst estimates of $6.41 billion.
Tesla held to the guidance it issued earlier, saying it will sell 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles this year. An effort to just hit the low end of that range will require Tesla to deliver 200,000 vehicles in the second half of the year.
Read Tesla’s full update here.