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business/technology Saturday 4 april 2020
Tesla's 1Q car sales surged before pandemic shut things down

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE with some experts already
AP Business Writer predicting the ban keep-
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Tes- ing Tesla's Fremont factory
la's sales of its increasingly closed could extend into
popular electric cars got off June. Tesla estimated it
to fast start this year, even could have made nearly
though the company had 500,000 cars in Fremont this
to slam the brakes along year in addition to 150,000
with other major automak- vehicles at a new factory in
ers last month because of China.
worldwide efforts to con- Tesla entered 2020 with high
tain the worst pandemic in hopes, with the outspoken
a century. Musk brashly predicting the
The Palo Alto, California, company's sales would ex-
company delivered 88,400 ceed 500,000 cars for the
vehicles during the first year. That would be up sig-
three months of the year, nificantly higher than the
based on preliminary num- company's sales of 367,500
bers released Thursday. last year.
That represented a 40% in- After years of huge losses,
crease from the same time This Wednesday, March 18, 2020, file photo, shows a Tesla charging station for automobiles in Port Tesla also appeared to be
Huron, Mich. Tesla's sales of its increasingly popular electric cars got off to a fast start in the year,
last year and came close even though the company had to slam the brakes along with other major automakers in March turning the corner finan-
to matching the average 2020 because of worldwide efforts to contain the worst pandemic in a century. cially a fter two consecu-
sales estimate of 89,000 (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) tive quarters of profits.
vehicles among analysts Wedbush Securities ana- making the leap from the its main factory in Fremont, The company will release its
polled by FactSet. Those lyst Daniel Ives described luxury to mainstream mar- California, last month after financial results for the first
projections had fallen from Tesla's sales numbers as “a ket. an edict was issued to close quarter later this month or
estimated sales of 107,000 small victory in a dark envi- Tesla CEO Elon Muck was down most businesses. early next month.
Tesla vehicles when Fact- ronment." among those who initially Before the shutdown, Tes- Those numbers will also
Set surveyed analysts at the Tesla's stock surged nearly downplayed the threat la manufactured nearly give investors an idea of
end of February. 17% to $531 in extended posed by the coronavirus, 102,700 vehicles in the first how much cash Tesla has
Investors apparently had trading after the first-quar- and publicly predicted it three months of the year, available to help ride out
been bracing for a letdown ter sales figures came out. would be not much worse a 33% increase from the the economic turbulence
amid the economic turmoil Even so, Tesla's stock has than the flu. He has since same 2019 period. still ahead. The company
triggered by the health cri- lost nearly half its value pledged to help make The company won't be ended December with
sis that has already killed since peaking nearly two the ventilators needed for making any more cars un- $6.3 billion and raised an-
more than 50,000 people months ago amid rising people battling COVID-19, til at least early May under other $2 billion in February
worldwide while infect- hopes that the company's although local officials had the current restrictions in while its stock was still a hot
ing more than 1 million. cars were on the verge of to pressure Tesla to close the San Francisco Bay Area, commodity.q
Small biz rescue off to spotty start; some banks not ready

By KEN SWEET, The program is being over- bank wasn’t accepting
JOYCE ROSENBERG and seen by the SBA but banks applications and that he
RYAN J. FOLEY are handling the applica- should keep checking his
The Associated Press tion process. Some large online account for guid-
NEW YORK (AP) — The fed- lenders like Wells Fargo, ance in the coming hours
eral government's relief Huntington Bank and Bank and days, Stein said.
program for small business- of America said are ready “It was almost comical,
es is off to a bumpy start Fri- to go. BofA said they've but heartbreaking. It’s
day, with some businesses gotten 28,000 applications tragicomedy, I guess," he
able to apply and several so far. said.
big banks saying they’re Others like JPMorgan Going into the program's
not ready to process ap- Chase said they wouldn't launch Friday, the banking
plications. accept applications on industry had been trying
Millions of small businesses Friday, citing lack of guid- to temper expectations
are expected to apply for ance from the Treasury about how many business-
these desperately needed Department. es will get the cash they In this Thursday, April 2, 2020 file photo, Jovita Carranza,
resaid scue loans from the Ted Stein, who operates need on Friday. administrator of the Small Business Administration, speaks
$349 billion Paycheck Pro- a small software business Banks large and small will about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room
tection Program, which in West Virginia, filled out have to process these of the White House n Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence,
President Donald Trump listen. Millions of small businesses are
was put in place to help an online form Thursday loans as quickly as possible expected to apply for a desperately needed rescue loan
them retain workers and through PNC Bank ,saying in order to get their cus- Friday, a stern test for a banking industry that has had less
pay bills during the coro- he was interested in ap- tomers a slice of the pro- than a week to prepare for the deluge. Small businesses will
navirus pandemic. Rough- plying. On Friday, a bank gram. be seeking loans from the $349 billion Paycheck Protection
ly 2,300 loans valued at representative told Stein The banks have moved Program, which was put in place to help them retain workers
$889 million have been he was unaware that the employees into new de- and pay bills during the coronavirus pandemic.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
processed so far, said Jo- form was on its website. Af- partments — a logistical
vita Carranza, administra- ter Stein explained to him challenge given many ly keep up with the flood employees are either sick
tor of the Small Business where to find it, the rep- employees are working re- of applications. Not only or quarantined because
Administration. resentative told Stein the motely — just to potential- that, but thousands of their of the virus. q