Tesla finally hits Model 3 output target
NEW YORK: Tesla Inc reached a milestone critical to Elon Musk’s goal to bring electric cars to the masses — and earn some profit in the process — by finally exceeding a long-sought production target with the Model 3.
By building more than 5,000 of the sedans in the last week of the second quarter, Tesla “just became a real car company”, said the chief executive officer.
He may turn out to be right, if Tesla can hit these manufacturing goals again and again. After all, producing 5,000 units of one vehicle in a week is far from unheard of in the car industry, and the company had to pull out all the stops to get to this point, including constructing a tent and makeshift assembly line next to its factory.
What Musk still needs to prove is that this level of output can endure.
“Now that Tesla has achieved the 5,000 mark, it needs to do so on a steady, routine basis and with excellent quality,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Autotrader.
Hitting the 5,000-a-week target is a major achievement for Musk, who first revealed Model 3 in late 2016.
It’s also a relief for customers who have waited for their cars for more than two years.
“We did it!!” Musk proclaimed in the email to employees on Sunday. “We either found a way or, by will and inventiveness, created entirely new solutions that were thought impossible. Intense in tents. Transporting entire production lines across the world in massive cargo planes. Whatever. It worked.”