Tesla Starts Off 2018 With Disappointing News
It appears the Tesla Model 3 remains in ‘production hell’.
The American electric automaker is continuing to struggle to ramp up production of its latest model, which shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone that followed the Tesla Model X’s roll out. Despite all of CEO Elon Musk’s claims, Tesla has been unable to overcome the manufacturing challenges for the more affordable electric sedan and has now said it will likely build 2,500 Model 3s per week by the end of the first quarter, which is half what it had earlier promised. The goal of reaching 5,000 vehicles per week will now come by the end of the second quarter.
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In total, the company delivered 29,870 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2017, which included 15,200 Model S sedans and 13,120 Model X SUVs. A total of 1,550 Model 3s were delivered in the fourth quarter.
Previously, Tesla predicted it would reach the milestone of 5,000 vehicles per week in December, but changed that target in November to the end of the first quarter. It does appear that Tesla is making improvements to production, but it still has a hill to climb in regards to fulfilling Model 3 preorders.
“In the last seven working days of the quarter, we made 793 Model 3s, and in the last few days, we hit a production rate on each of our manufacturing lines that extrapolates to over 1,000 Model 3s per week,” Tesla said in a statement.
[Source: Reuters]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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Amazon lost its shirt for years before finally turning a profit, and it seems to be doing okay now. Time will tell with Tesla.