Tesla reaches a key weekly target for the production of its model 3

Tesla says that he has reached a manufacturing milestone, producing more than 5,000 model 3 sedans in a week. Now the electric car manufacturer has to prove that this is not a one-off success.

The company relies on Model 3, its first mass-market vehicle, to increase revenue and offset the billions of dollars it has spent to build a huge battery plant in Nevada and begins manufacturing the model 3 at its Fremont, California auto plant, as well as developing new vehicles.

[ Read More : Tesla began to build cars under a tent, and he says that Elon Musk slept at the factory.]

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the company said it also felt the pressure of a weaker dollar, and could see other tensions arising from the commercial policy of the company. Trump administration. Higher tariffs could increase the prices of cars exported to China and components imported by Tesla from that country.

For now, however, the famous automaker. Tesla said it has produced more than 5,000 model 3 sedans in the last seven days of June, a goal its executive director, Elon Musk, has described as crucial to its profitability goal over the last two quarters of the year. this year. We have found a way or, by will and inventiveness, created entirely new solutions that were deemed impossible, "Musk told employees Sunday in an email, adding," I think we've just become a real auto company. . "

First reacted favorably to the production report, sending Tesla shares in the morning trade, but the stock ended the day lower than 2 percent to $ 335.07

The automaker also reported the departure of Doug Field.] was seconded from Apple in 2013 to oversee the development of vehicles and later named senior vice president of engineering. Tesla said in May that Mr. Field was taking leave, but that he had not left the company.

Tesla was struggling with bottlenecks and other problems in his process. Model 3 was assembled and produced only 2,000 cars a week at the beginning of the quarter.The company rationalized its production line by replacing robotic machines complicated by human workers.In June, Tesla erected a giant tent just outside the walls of the l & # 3 9 Fremont factory, where she tinkered a new production line to hasten the final assembly of cars

. installed inside the factory, although there have also been production slowdowns in the paint shop.

With the three assembly lines in service, Tesla built 5 031 Model 3 in the last seven days of June; about 20% came from the line installed in the tent outside the factory. He also manufactured nearly 2,000 other vehicles – the Model S luxury sedan and the Model X sport utility vehicle.

Tesla's challenge is to prove that he can produce more than 5,000 models 3 weeks later. week. A spokesman for the company said Tesla had to run the assembly line 24 hours.

Car manufacturers generally can not run the plants 24 hours a day because they have to stop production to maintain the machines. Workers also get tired when they have to work six or seven days a week.

"I do not know if the numbers really represent reality or sustainability," said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, an automotive research firm. . "You have to keep a critical eye on them, there's a story with Tesla, and we've been told a lot about the Model 3 targets last year that have not proven to be accurate."

The company has never reported annual profit for 15 years founder. In the first quarter, Tesla recorded a $ 785 million loss on a $ 3.4 billion business figure. The company consumed $ 745 million in cash, up sharply from $ 112 million in the prior quarter.