Tesla Model S Production Speed Increasing
This article originally published on Gas2
by Christopher Tracy
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, has stated in an interview with Bloomberg that they are building Model S’s faster than you can spell, “Porsche Doppelkupplung.” He didn’t actually say that. His actual quote? “We’re above 400 a week at the current manpower, and not trivially above it.” He didn’t elaborate to the actual number of Model S’s being produced per week, but it means Tesla production is amping up even beyond expectations.
Tesla Motors has about 3,000 employees, and the initial goal was 400 Model S sedans built a week. Having 2,000 assembly workers with two daily production shifts, Tesla is already exceeding their goals, though by how much we don’t know. Earlier in the year production was slow to rise to the demand for the Model S, and Tesla missed its 5,000 car delivery goal for last year.
Tesla had to bring in temporary workers and resolve supplier issues first. Musk has predicted that Model S sales will eclipse 21,000 this year as Tesla begins deliveries to Europe and Asia in the second half. That could make it the best-selling electric car in America.
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This is a good time for Tesla. They’ve paid off the $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy NINE years early, this year the company’s shares have surged 271 percent, prompting talk of a Google takeover. In late 2014, The Model X, a sport utility vehicle, will join the Model S, with a BMW 3-series competitor to be added in 2016 or 2017. Add to that the recently-announced battery swapping stations and the growing network of free Tesla superchargers, and Elon Musk looks to be riding high.
Source: Bloomberg News
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