Elon Musk wants to solve Tesla's logistical problems by taking a page from Amazon's book



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Elon Musk held a week with Tesla employees in which he stressed that Tesla had to take the cars out of the factory faster to solve the logistical problems of the manufacturer.

He made several comparisons with Amazon.

Tesla is not like other automakers in many ways.

One such means is that Tesla owns and operates all of its own stores, service centers and distribution centers without doing business with third-party franchisees, like most other automakers.

This business model has several obvious differences, but one of the least appreciated is that Tesla owns and is responsible for all of its vehicles until delivery by the customer.

This creates more complex logistical problems for Tesla than for other automakers who simply sell to dealers who keep a large amount of inventory on their lots.

Currently, Tesla custom vehicles often leave the factory only if they set a delivery date with the customer, which is not always as simple as one might think.

Musk told employees this week that Tesla would immediately put the vehicles in transit and deliver them to local delivery centers so customers can pick them up at their convenience.

Tesla spends many hours of work coordinating customer deliveries and backing up Fremont's inventory.

Musk wants a steady stream of vehicles going to the final destinations and compares logistics to Amazon.

The CEO said:

"Amazon would go bankrupt if they had to wait until customers were ready to take delivery before shipment."

It is interesting to note that it is also a financial problem since Tesla invests all its money in the construction of the vehicles and is not paid until the customer is delivered.

Therefore, every day that the car is built and not in the hands of the customer, it is a day when Tesla is several tens of thousands of dollars in the hole.

Musk insisted that providing vehicles to customers faster would greatly improve Tesla's finances.

On a larger scale, the fact that Tesla has production facilities closer to its customers base would also have a significant impact on reducing transit times.

This is exactly what Tesla is trying to do with Gigafactory 3 in China and the company says it is moving forward with a factory in Europe.

Electrek's Take

According to interlocutors, Elon insisted on solving Tesla's logistics problems and presented Amazon as a good example of solid logistics.

Tesla has had the audacity to build its sales, service and distribution network around company-owned sites rather than franchised dealerships.

I think this has paid off in many respects, despite the fact that some problems remain, including sales bans in some states, but I like that Tesla still finds ways to optimize this. business model and improve the sale of electric vehicles. and more profitable in the long run.

In the end, it should be easier for customers who will have more availability to just go get their car in Tesla delivery centers.

Amazon is an interesting comparison. It is certainly an efficient logistics company, but it is particularly interesting given the context in which Amazon was engaged in the sale of cars.


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