Tesla Model 3 Production Was Paused Between February 20–24 In Order To Tweak Automation
As part of efforts to continue improving the Tesla Model 3 production process, the company paused production of the model from February 20 to 24 for planned upgrades and adjustments to equipment and automation, it has revealed.
The adjustments have reportedly allowed for increased production rates since the upgrades.
Commenting on the planned nature of the production pause, a Tesla spokesperson stated (in an interview with Reuters): “Our Model 3 production plan includes periods of planned downtime in both Fremont and Gigafactory 1. These periods are used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates.”
Other than that statement, not much was revealed with regard to the recent production pause. While such pauses are par-for-the-course when it comes to bringing a new production line to capacity, I would expect that there are now a flurry of articles being written referencing the pause as a sign that Tesla is on the verge of failing. [Editor’s note: Actually, those have been getting published — especially on a certain “investment” website — for a couple of weeks.]
As Tesla Model 3 production to date has reportedly been limited primarily due to a battery-pack assembly bottleneck (battery cell production itself is reportedly running very smoothly), the production pause is unlikely to limit total Model 3 production and deliveries at all.
With that in mind, it seems very likely that Tesla Model 3 production rates should continue climbing fast over the near term, with rates dependent largely on how long it takes the company to get the new battery module assembly machines up and running at Gigafactory 1.
As a reminder here, Tesla is currently targeting a Model 3 production rate of 2,500 a week by the end of Quarter 1 2018, followed by the achievement of a prodution rate of 5,000 units a week by the end of Quarter 2.
Those figures relate only to Tesla Model 3 production, while Tesla Model S production and Tesla Model X production continue at pace.
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