Tela is still in the beginning of their model 4 production ramp, but every Model 3 is being built on the Model 3 production line, which is fully installed, powered on, producing vehicles, and increasing in automation every day. However, every vehicle manufacturing line in the world has both manual and automated processes, including the Model S and Model X line today. Tesla says that contrary to a Wall Street Journal’s report, this is not some revelation.
Tesla Semi unveil now Nov 16. Diverting resources to fix Model 3 bottlenecks & increase battery production for Puerto Rico & other affected areas.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2017
Tesla has racked up about 500,000 advance orders for the Model 3, and requires would-be buyers to put down $1,000 to reserve a car. Delivery dates for pre-ordered vehicles aren’t yet clear, and currently Tesla isn’t producing the base $35,000 car, but only a higher-grade version that starts at $44,000.
Logging into My Tesla provides customized date estimates. It is showing about February-April for some California bay area based orders to receive a longer range model 3, 3 months later for standard range and three months later for the all wheel drive.
Tesla had planned to show off its electric Semi at its Hawthorne, California, design studio on Oct. 26. That event is now pushed back to at least next month. Musk is also working to provide large-scale battery packs to Puerto Rico, to help the island regain power after its energy grid was devastated last month by hurricanes.
The company defended the Model 3 rollout process, pointing out that it had said it would take time to “fine-tune the line for higher volumes.”
“There are no fundamental issues with Model 3 production or its supply chain, and we are confident in addressing the manufacturing bottleneck issues in the near-term,” Tesla said. “We are simply working through the S-curve of production that we drew out for the world to see at our launch event in July.”
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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