Tesla pauses Model 3 production after missing several targets
Tesla has halted the production of its Model 3 electric car for what is expected to be five days in order to solve some of the problems that have contributed to the numerous delays and missed targets.
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17:39 26/03/20
The company said it was part of a planned period of downtime and it won’t have a negative impact on the new production targets for the car. It is at least the second time in recent weeks that production has been stopped.
“Our Model 3 production plan includes periods of planned downtime in both Fremont and Gigafactory 1. These periods are used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates. This is not unusual and is in fact common in production ramps like this,” a spokesperson told The Verge.
Recently CEO Elon Musk said the delays in the Model 3 were due to excessive automation and a complicated assembly line that was misplaced. He also said the company was working to improve the manufacturing process and relying more on humans.
The company said earlier in April that total Model 3 production was 9,766 for the first quarter of the year and pledged to meet a 5,000-a-week target for the model by the end of its second quarter.
Despite some production hitches forcing him back into his famous shop-floor sleeping bag, Musk said Tesla would be profitable and cash flow positive in the next quarters of 2018.
Tesla's stock fell 1.5% in early trading on Tuesday but before long was almost back to parity at $290.89.