Part 2/9:
Letter of Intent (LOI): A non-binding commitment indicating interest or preliminary volumes, often used to gauge supplier capacity.
Capacity Reservation Purchase Order: An agreement to reserve manufacturing capacity and procure capital equipment without finalizing production, aimed at ensuring readiness for future orders.
Final Purchase Order: The official authorization to commence full-scale production and assembly.
The ongoing rumors lean toward Tesla being at a capacity reservation stage or possibly moving into the final purchase order phase, which would indicate readiness to start mass production.