Tesla’s Challenge: Leaving Behind The Lap Of Luxury

Tesla is finally making a profit. For the first time, the California-based electric carmaker has posted two quarterly profits in a row.

Those profits were driven by pricey cars — higher-priced variants of Tesla’s new Model 3, which sell for $50,000 and up.

But instead of doubling down on the strategy that proved profitable, Tesla is laying off thousands of people to slash costs, reducing production of the Model S and Model X and building a new factory in Shanghai. It’s all part of an aggressive push to make cars for the mass market that sell for $35,000.