Strong demand for the Roadster had helped bring in the highest quarterly revenue in its history – up from £17.3m ($28.4m) in Q2 2010 to £35.5m ($58.2m) in Q2 2011. But net loss for the same period totalled £35.9m ($58.9m), compared to £23.5m ($38.5m) in the second quarter of 2010, largely driven by substantial recent investment.

The company said its high expenditure was a result of development costs for its forthcoming Model S saloon and Model X crossover vehicle, due in 2012 and 2013 respectively. To cope with the volumes expected, Tesla is redeveloping its factory in Fremont including adding a giant Schuler press, robots and injection moulding equipment.

It expects to continue recording losses until volume sales of the Model S – predicted to total 20,000 units per year – start to balance out the investment. The car is, Tesla said, on schedule for customer deliveries in mid 2012, while the Model X SUV is expected to add 10-15,000 extra units in 2014, its first full year on sale.

In Q2 2011, Tesla said it delivered 190 Roadsters, a 35% unit growth compared to Q2 2010, generating £16.5m ($27m) in revenue and prompting an increased production run to 2,500 units, from 2,400. Its service agreement to supply parts for Daimler, and development agreement with Toyota for its EV program have raised £6.7m ($11m) in the three month period.