"Saloon" as a British-ism for "sedan" is a new word for me. As for the article, likely needing to "raise additional capital during the second half of 2019" is a far cry "uncomfortably close to the truth" of totally bankrupt.
If you read the original Moody's announcement, Tesla needs a capital raise this year and next year. A company that needs annual multi-billion dollar injections of capital to survive is indeed, uncomfortably close to bankruptcy.
The original plan was to use profits to fuel the expansion. However, there was no profits and they used debt and capital raises instead. Unfortunately, the expansion generated no profits of its own, only huge losses, requiring even more debt to expand further. Eventually, there was a vicious cycle of debt, losses, and more debt need to expand further, leading to the situation you see now.
Because they lose money and need to borrow more? But in any case, regardless of why they have it, whether they keep expanding or not: they need to pay back that debt and they won't have the money for it. It's as simple as that. Does that make sense? So no, they can't survive if they stop expanding. The only way to survive is to either be profitable within the year or raise more capital.
> "Saloon" as a British-ism for "sedan" is a new word for me.
I believe it derives from the saloon ( main passenger accommodation ) of a bus, versus the open deck of a charabanc. In turn borrowed from the maritime sense of a large weather-protected cabin for passengers.
In British car terms it indicates a car with 'separate' accommodation for the passengers i.e. not integrated with the boot / trunk as found in a hatchback.
