Tesla Production Troubles May Be Continuing Due to Design Changes, Hiring Issues [UPDATED]
Tesla’s Model 3 production problems are well documented, including the recent firings/layoffs. Now we’re hearing that while Tesla has conceded it has production “ bottlenecks” (and blamed some of the issues on suppliers failing to meet their deadlines), the company may also be shooting itself in the foot with mismanagement.
A TTAC reader with insider knowledge claims a design change to an aluminum frame component has idled production for nearly two weeks. In addition, an Indeed.com job posting from about 45 days ago sought temporary contract workers to program the robots on the assembly line.
That last bit is notable, as typically the hiring for that job would have wrapped up much sooner in advance of the production launch.
This isn’t to say Tesla’s apparent blaming of suppliers is untrue – it’s just possible that all of these things are true. It’s also not shocking, at least to me, that a small automaker would struggle with ramping up production on its first truly mass-produced vehicle. After all, the brand has also struggled with production on the lower-volume Model S and Model X.
Our reader declined to elaborate further on the problems, and Tesla has yet to reply to an emailed inquiry as of this writing.
Some of you will accuse us of Tesla-bashing, but it’s important to note that this is news in part because of the sky-high expectations for the Model 3 launch, and in part because of the company’s own promises – promises that likely won’t be met. Also note that I’ve spoken out recently about treating Tesla based on the facts, and not hype or hate.
We’ll update this post should we hear anything further.
Tesla has now said it will not reach its goal of a Model 3 production rate of 5,000 units per week until “late” in the first quarter of 2018. The company previously said it would achieve that goal by the end of this year.
[Image: Tesla]
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Did anyone else look at the job posted on Indeed? The pay rate is 200-250 for a 10-12 hour day. At best you'd make $25 per hr. Sure you could make more working OT, but then you don't have a weekend. With that kind of pay rate in the Bay Area you'll be lucky to live paycheck to paycheck. And some people say there's a shortage of engineers? It doesn't make sense for a person to take thousands of dollars in student debt if the companies aren't going to pay decent.
"Did anyone else look at the job posted on Indeed? The pay rate is 200-250 for a 10-12 hour day. At best you’d make $25 per hr. Sure you could make more working OT, but then you don’t have a weekend. With that kind of pay rate in the Bay Area you’ll be lucky to live paycheck to paycheck. And some people say there’s a shortage of engineers? It doesn’t make sense for a person to take thousands of dollars in student debt if the companies aren’t going to pay decent." Thank you for pointing this out. The only employees who can make this work with be people willing to crowd together to make rent or entry level employees who still live with their parents.