Tesla Trying Drastic Methods to Speed Up Model 3 Production

Tesla is struggling to meet production targets with the Model 3, and the automaker is turning to drastic, unorthodox methods to get vehicles to consumers quickly.

The company was looking to produce an ambitious 5,000 Model 3 units a week by the end of the year, but having delivered just 260 units to customers last quarter, they are way off target and had to push that goal back by three months. A report from the Financial Times has detailed how Tesla’s current Model 3 production plan is giving parts suppliers headaches and could be opening up the potential for catastrophic vehicle delivery situations.

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In the report by the Financial Times, an interesting part of the production process for the Model 3 sticks out. Some examples of partially finished cars have been shipped from the factory lacking seats and digital displays. The plan entails completing the installation at Tesla stores before customers take delivery. 

Tesla is confident this method will work best in the long run for the Model 3. “Unlike other car companies, which do not change their cars or at least a year at a time, Tesla is constantly improving its cars with over-the-air updates and often design and hardware improvement,” a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement.

Additionally, some suppliers are going public with their experiences with the company like being requested to make changes without any advance notice, for example. One source said, “Tesla kept saying ‘you need to make it faster,’ but anytime you make changes [to the design], you go back to the start of the process.”

Ted Mabley, an automotive supply chain consultant further reinforces the problems with uneven supplier directives. “The automotive supply chain is miles and miles long but an inch thick,” he told the Financial Times. “Any time there’s a ripple, it goes the whole length.”

Despite all this, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is remaining optimistic about the Model 3’s launch. Customers currently on the reservation list for the Model 3 have been sent emails this week notifying them of the current delays. 

[Source: Financial Times]