Chris Woodyard

USA TODAY

Tesla Motors reported a whopping loss in the fourth quarter Wednesday that badly missed estimates, but the electric car maker cheered investors with a rosy outlook for the rest of 2016 and offered reassurances that production is on track.

As a result, shares rose in after-hours trading Wednesday -- up 14% at one point -- despite the earnings miss. On Thursday morning the stock was up more than 8% to $155.62. The company said it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis in 2016 and be cash-flow positive, even as it invests another $1.5 billion in production facilities. Tesla says it plans to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 cars to customers this year, up from more than 50,000 last year.

Prior to the report, Tesla shares had been falling, down 39% so far this year. Tesla fell another 3% on Wednesday alone, closing at $143.67.

Tesla makes two luxury models, the Model S sedan and the new Model X crossover. A prototype for a new mass-market model, aimed at having a base price of about $35,000, is expected to make its debut next month.

In the fourth quarter, Tesla said it lost $114 million on an adjusted basis, or 87 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence said its consensus analyst estimate showed Tesla had been expected an adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents for the fourth quarter. Revenue came in at $1.75 billion, falling short of the estimates of $1.8 billion.

On an unadjusted basis, Tesla took an even bigger loss: $320 million, or $2.30 a share. The company said it had heavy ramp-up costs last year in order to make its new crossover.

Tesla said production of the Model X crossover, its newest model, is on track. Tesla says it expects to be able to produce as many as 1,000 of the crossovers a week in the second quarter. Some analysts had expressed worries that the Model X would encounter production issues because it is a complicated vehicle to manufacturer. Among other things, it was upward-opening rear doors.

Musk says demand for Tesla models remains strong. It's so strong, in fact, that Musk says the company deliberately played down the introduction of the Model X so that it didn't get more orders for it than it could handle before production ramps up.. He called the Model X the best vehicle on the market and said his regret about it is packing in so many features, instead of saving some of them and rolling them out later.

The crossover has "too many great things at once," Musk said on a conference call. "In retrospect, it would have been better to do fewer things."