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Model 3 is a supremely important product for Tesla's future. That's what CEO Elon Musk thinks that will help the company come out of the red, and it could also be the first all-electric car widely adopted. And on the eve of one of the most important deadlines of the company's 15-year existence, the company is still looking for the best way to build it.
Today marks the end of the second financial quarter of 2018, and it is also the deadline set by Musk for Tesla to manufacture models 3 at a rate of 5,000 per week. Tesla must reach this production rate so that it stops losing money on every model 3 that it manufactures. Once it reaches this rate, the company can climb towards the end goal of obtaining a 25% margin on each of the sedans.
Speculation flourished as the deadline approached – some traders believe the company will only be not winning and have bet a lot split, and many fervent fans do not care particularly. Musk remained confident that the company will reach the pace it demands, and over the past two weeks, Tesla has granted factory tours and interviews with the CEO at The New York Times and the The Wall Street Journal .
The tours could be considered as a small olive branch for the media, what Musk often criticized or simply as an effort to show the world (including analysts and investors) under control, normal situation "before the end of the quarter." Whatever the reason for access, details show that even after Tesla has manufactured and shipped tens of thousands of Model 3 to its customers since the beginning of production almost a year ago, the company continues to change the way it is the most important.
These changes can be important, as the new line d & # 39; Assembled by a tent that Tesla recently built in one of its parking lots at the Fremont, Calif. Plant, but they are often much smaller, such as spot welds that hold the frame of the car, For example, according to the Times Tesla executives approved an idea from the company's engineers that robots would make about 300 "unnecessary" welds less in order to save time on production.
Robots still play a big role in the production of Model 3, although Musk admitted to over-reliance on automation. But the company apparently tries to understand how to best use these robots. In some cases, this involves tweaking very small things, such as bolts that robots use:
For months, Tesla engineers have struggled to get a bolt through a hole to secure part of the brake back. They found a solution of exasperating simplicity: instead of using a bolt with a flat tip on its threaded end, the engineers turned to a bolt with a conical tip, called "entry," which can be guided through the hole even if
In other cases, Tesla pushes the robots beyond the prescribed limits:
Tesla sometimes rips robots and tests them at speeds higher than those specified by supplier. Said Charles Mwangi, director of Tesla Body Engineering
"We are breaking them to see what the maximum limit is," said Mwangi. The idea is to find ways to speed up production without spending capital for new machines. In the future, rather than adding more machines to increase production, "we can just call our equipment," he said.
Meanwhile, the WSJ says in his tour report that Tesla was spending between $ 80 million and $ 90 million in an "automated warehouse system" that was supposed to send coins at specific workstations around the factory. When the gambit finally failed, parts of this conveyor system became part of the " scrap " Tesla used to create the assembly line under the tent on the outside.
The fact that Tesla makes changes to the way model 3 is built after some 30,000 copies were used is emblematic of the company works differently compared to other automakers. At Ford, or GM, or Mercedes-Benz, decisions like these are often made during the prototyping phase, and the results of these choices are studied through rigorous testing well before cars fall into the hands of customers. .
This is a bold choice for a company that has had problems with quality control. And the results of the changes made today may not surface until thousands of other models are on the road, well beyond the moment when we know if there are any. business hit the marks of Musk. It is also likely to be another dividing line. Experts can say that this is a sign that Tesla is still learning on the fly, while the company's supporters will say that she is ready to accept new ideas.
A spokesman for Tesla declined to comment on the changes in the production process. Model 3. But Tesla is certainly aware of the risks associated with the quality and reliability of its cars. One of the many risk factors included in the company's most recent quarterly filings with the SEC addresses this dilemma head on. "Although we have done extensive internal testing of the products we manufacture, we currently have a limited frame of reference to assess the quality, reliability, durability, and long-term performance characteristics of our batteries." , powertrains and vehicles. ", Wrote the company." There is no guarantee that we will be able to detect and correct defects in our products before they are sold or installed for consumers. "
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