It's hard not to encounter Elon Musk of Tesla Motors these days: he's either on the Colbert Report, Bloomberg News, or making cameo appearances in Hollywood action films.

Come with us as we enter the Elon Musk and Tesla Motors reality distortion field and hear their second quarter results. Musk called it "phenomenal across the board" and the "best quarter" in the company's history.

Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) does seem to be executing on its Model S schedule, generating revenue from Roadster sales and Model S deposits, of which there are many, as well as from their drive train business. Revenues are up and losses are mounting as the firm ramps up production. The losses are certainly not unexpected.

Here are some of the highlights of the Q2 results and investor letter.

  • Total revenue in the second quarter was $58 million, more than double the revenue in Q2 of last year and the highest quarterly revenue in company history.
  • Gross margin was over 30 percent for the third quarter in a row.
  • Model S remains on schedule for first customer deliveries in mid-2012.
  • The firm has "confidence in our long term target gross margin of 25 percent for Model S when we reach an annualized sales run rate of 20,000 units."
  • Loss of $0.60 per share on a GAAP basis
  • $27 million in Roadster-related revenue in this quarter, up 44 percent from the same quarter last year. As of June 30, the firm has delivered about 1,840 Roadsters worldwide out of an anticipated program total of 2,500
  • The Model S will have the option of seating seven passengers.
  • The company is beginning the design and advanced engineering of its next vehicle, the Model X crossover. Model X is intended to provide the functionality of a minivan with a design of an SUV. The firm looks to bring the Model X to first customer deliveries in late 2013 with pricing similar to that of Model S.
  • At the end of June, the firm had over 5,300 reservations for the Model S. These reservations require a minimum $5,000 refundable deposit.
  • Powertrain component-related sales accounted for just over $11 million this quarter.
  • RAV4 EV’s full powertrain development services revenue of approximately $19 million for the second quarter


Guidance, etc.

2011 full-year revenue will be between $180 million and $190 million, up from prior guidance of $170 million to $185 million.

The firm anticipates capital expenditures for 2011 to be between $220 million and $245 million, up from their previous guidance of $190 million  to $215 million.  

Most of the spending for Model S and its manufacturing, including capital expenditures, are reimbursable under the $465 million loan facility with the U.S. DOE.

Tesla stock is down 0.74 percent to $27.00 as of the writing of this article in after-hours trading.