The pressure is on. Tesla's Elon Musk is in a bit of a jam as the Model 3's production numbers are quite low and far off Musk's initial claims/forecast.
So, now what?
Shares of TSLA are trading near its all-time high of about $360/share but according to a recent story in The Wall Street Journal, major parts of the Model 3 are still being built by hand. Remember, Musk said that at the end of September, he expected the ramp up of production to ship AT LEAST 1,500 Model 3 automobiles. In reality, only 220 were delivered.
This slow ramp up has been attributed to "production bottlenecks," and also Tesla's efforts in Puerto Rico post Hurricane Maria. While the aid in Maria is certainly noble and a great move from a public relations perspective, what does it mean for the company trying to keep its head above water?
The debut of a semi meant for commercial shipping has been pushed back from late October to mid November. We're assuming that Tesla wants to get that product to market as soon as possible as businesses who rely on ground transportation would like to benefit from any savings that could be had through the purchase of more economical vehicles.
All that said, what say YOU, Spies? Is this the start of Tesla's downfall OR is it merely a hiccup in the launch of an all-new product?
...Earlier this week, Tesla officially acknowledged Model 3 production problems, and reported that only 220 of the cars had been delivered, far short of the “at least 1,500” vehicles Tesla had forecast by the end of September.
Rumors that the Model 3 assembly line is not yet complete were bolstered by a Wall Street Journal article Friday reporting that major parts of the vehicles were still being assembled by hand.
Musk once had forecast production of 200,000 Model 3s by the end of this year. Now he’s talking about a rate of 5,000 a week by the end of December — a rate that now appears to be in jeopardy...
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