Embattled electric car maker Tesla said it had ramped up quarterly production on its Model 3 sedan, although it still fell short of its goal of 2,500 a week.
Tesla manufactured 2,020 of the lower-priced model in the final seven days of the quarter, after racing to report higher output to investors.
Production bottlenecks have plagued the company, with much of its future banked on the Model 3, its first mid-price, mass-market vehicle.
In all, the California company delivered 29,980 cars in the first three months of the year, made up of 11,730 Model S, 10,070 Model X and 8,180 Model 3, Tesla said in a statement.
The production shortfall comes at a bad time for the company, which is facing a federal investigation into a recent fatal crash involving Autopilot, its driver assistance system, and the voluntary recall of 123,000 Model S sedans announced last week.
The Moody's ratings agency last week downgraded the company's credit further into junk status, saying Tesla might run out of cash if it did not raise more than $2 billion.
That may have been behind Tesla chief Elon Musk's series of April Fool's Day tweets, including a fake press statement declaring that "Despite intense efforts to raise money, including a last-ditch mass sale of Easter Eggs, we are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can't believe it."
The Model 3 delivery figures offered some reassurance to investors, and shares in the company up 4.9% just after stocks opened in New York.
Some buy-side Tesla watchers have previously questioned whether the company could sustain such numbers and also worried about profitability.
"There's been a number of things combined to impact the stock," said Tony Boase, senior research analyst with Nuveen Asset Management in Minneapolis.
In addition to the Model 3 production rate, he cited a recent Moody's downgrade of Tesla's credit rating and the crash of a Tesla Model X and the company's comments since the crash.
"It comes down to the Model 3. That's the key," Mr Boase said. "If they can profitably build those cars that would be a huge step in the right direction.
"If you couldn't do (2,000) without using all the resources and at a decent margin level, what have you really achieved?" he added.
Another investor who said he has profitably sold Tesla shares short four times in the last 18 months was also sceptical.
"Are they really at 2,000 or did they just stuff their system to achieve 2,000 for last week?" said David Kudla, Chief Executive and chief investment strategist at Mainstay Capital Management, who said he currently has no bets on Tesla.
"The only position I'd have on it is short because they aren't making any money. Their operating losses are growing. The stock's been overvalued for months," he said.
Tesla said on Friday that the Model X involved in a fatal crash in California last week had activated its autopilot system, raising new questions about the semi-autonomous system that handles some driving tasks.
So far in 2018, the shares are down 21%, at a time when technology shares have suffered particularly as stock prices fall across the board.
Tesla has said it had about 500,000 advance reservations from customers for the Model 3, but manufacturing bottlenecks since last July have delayed production and deliveries to customers, exacerbating the company's need for cash.
Failure to meet targets and pressures on funding prompted Moody's downgrade last week, saying that Tesla was likely to raise more than $2 billion in new capital, partly to cover about $1.2 billion in convertible bonds due by March 2019.
Tesla still has loyal investors, including Zevenbergen Capital Investments in Seattle, which has owned the stock since the company's initial public offering.
"Historically, volatility has provided good entry points. Looking at it today we believe the demand outlook remains robust and unchanged," said Joseph Dennison, portfolio manager at Zevenbergen.
"I still believe their product targets and outlook they've given in the past. While they've been optimistic on the timing they've always followed through."
