Elon Musk: With improvisation, Tesla splits for an important purpose

D The most important news for the electric car manufacturer Tesla for years, Elon Musk also proclaims often via Twitter. Two numbers, four words and two emojis-hearts are enough to send Tesla's share to a new high: "7000 cars, 7 days ♥ Tesla Team ♥ ︎ ."

Not only did investors know what the automaker's boss means with this message. According to his own data, Tesla achieved his goal for the first time and built not only 5000 copies of his mid-size Model 3 car in a week, but also 2000 Model S and Model X. Musk would have managed at the last minute, this that many have doubted before

But now the question arises: to what extent is this success sustainable? Can these figures be repeated every week, or did Musk and his people invest all their energy in those seven days at the end of June to make Tesla's investors happy? In recent days, there was a growing signal that Musk could reach his self-imposed target of 5000 Model 3 per week by the end of June.

However, one had to read between the lines: On Friday night, Musk shared a tweet from a clip of "The Royal Teens", the song called "Short Shorts". But the singers' running pants should not have meant Tesla's boss, instead, his mockery was aimed at investors who had bet on alleged short sales, which in English "shorts", against Tesla's success. . For weeks, he prophesized to investors that they would lose their bets and a lot of money.

Musk had already postponed the 5000 goal several times.

There was a long debate in favor of the bet against Tesla. Musk had repeatedly postponed the production target of 5,000 copies a week, in fact this mark should be cracked by the end of last year. But the company was in the "production of hell," as Musk himself called the startup problems.

It has now taken a year to reach the value actually forecast as an intermediate goal. Meanwhile, Musk had to admit that he had exaggerated it, especially with automation. Even the production stages that make machines difficult to do, but do not pose a problem for humans, should be done by robots.

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That the goal of the 5000 Model 3 per week was only reached # 39, with the greatest improvisation, there is no doubt. One of the production lines is currently not even in a factory building, but in the California factory parking lot, protected only by a tent.

Musk announces that he is now living in the factory. However, what other suppliers, such as Volkswagen, BMW or Daimler might consider unprofessional and excessive requirements, let pass Tesla investors and experts.

Musk thinks that unconventionally

"The tent shows that he thinks unconventionally instead of drowning conventionally when things get tight," says Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of the Automotive Research Center (CAR) of the United States. University of Duisburg-Essen. "As a newcomer to the industry, he always has a sympathy bonus," says Stefan Bratzel of the Bergisch Gladbach Motor Management Center (CAM).

Musk himself congratulates his team for creating a new production line in just three weeks almost stamped from nowhere. The tent can definitely become a permanent facility, says the entrepreneur on Twitter. "I'm not sure if we need a building," he wrote in mid-June. The automated battery production of the German subsidiary Tesla Grohmann Automation is now ready for use in the Gigafactory. " They also kicked ," he writes untranslatably and adds in German: "Sacred straw bag!"

Tent production should not only be cheaper but also better. "No standard automotive solution could be built in time, so we designed a new solution," writes Musk. "It works and has a quality slightly higher than the more traditional production lines." The staff would feel better in the tent, the climate is better than in the factory and you even have "great views of the mountains ". Chef

However, at least the quality experts Superior announce doubt. "Good quality, will only come in a few months," says Bratzel. "If there are problems, it could be expensive because of the higher volumes." More often, Tesla had to call back the entire fleet because they had found a problem.

It was boring in the few copies of Model S and X, but feasible. If you had to call tens of thousands of Model 3s in the workshops, the costs would be higher. Dudenhöffer also assumes "higher warranty costs" in the first model 3 in mass production.

Tesla can change a lot of things by software update

Tesla could help an ability to envy other manufacturers the novice: software updates, remotely – "over the air" – can be played on all vehicles. "Of course, that does not help, if a screw rust," says Bratzel. "Many problems can now be solved later with the software." Recently, it has been alleged that even a too long braking distance in some tests could be corrected by reprogramming.

For experts, the praise of the production target predominates. "Musk has shown that it works," says Dudenhöffer. Now, it could stabilize the value achieved in the coming months. "The musk has turned again," says the director of the CAR Institute. Even though he now had to prove that he could make money with the mass production of electric cars.

In fact, the experts took the first model 3 apart and analyzed that, at least theoretically, a profit of $ 7,000 per vehicle would be possible. If Musk will actually go in the dark as planned this year is still uncertain. More recently, he fired nine percent of his staff to cut costs.

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Musk is running out of time. "He has to deliver now – figuratively," says Bratzel. "The beginner bonus is weakening, but he still has it." The leader of Tesla should not get bogged down again, says Dudenhöffer. Instead of always announcing new models and products, he must now further stabilize and increase production figures.

In the long run – according to Musk's statement – not only 5,000 copies a week should be built, but twice as much. Tesla will probably not run out of demand initially because more than half a million people had already pre-ordered a model 3. Until now, only customers in the United States have been provided.