Tesla Model S production reaches 400 cars a week capacity

Civil War Admiral David Farragut has famously been credited with saying, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" when he was presented with a challenging path ahead during the Battle of Mobile Bay. Specifically, the path was full of torpedoes. The Admiral has some "move forward!" ideological company in one Elon Musk.

While the torpedoes are only figurative at Tesla's Fremont plant, Musk has pushed Tesla Motors to double its weekly output of the Model S all-electric luxury sedan over the last three months and is now approaching full capacity of 400 vehicles a week – 20,000 a year – Automotive News says.

With more cars out on the road, Tesla's over-the-air software update system is proving its worth. This system allows for important software changes – which allow the driver to turn on a "creep" mode, for example – to take place without drivers spending time in a Tesla service center. In November, Motor Trend named the Model S its 2012 Car of the Year.

In the third quarter of 2012, Tesla lost $110.8 million on $50.1 million in revenue. With production humming along, Tesla should finally be able to realize its first quarterly profit this year, Musk told Automotive News. Of course, Musk didn't say which quarter.