Tesla: Idled Model 3 production a week

Tesla Inc. temporarily suspended production of the Model 3 electric sedan for a week in late February, a planned breather that ultimately may help increase output of the closely watched vehicle.

Model 3 production was idled from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24 before resuming at the company’s assembly plant in Fremont, Calif., according to the company. The automaker makes the Model S sedan, Model X sport utility vehicle and Model 3 at that site and batteries at a plant known as the Gigafactory east of Reno, Nev.

“Our Model 3 production plan includes periods of planned downtime in both Fremont and Gigafactory 1,” a Tesla spokesman said in an emailed statement. “These periods are used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates. This is not unusual and is in fact common in production ramps like this.”

The Model 3 is the linchpin of Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s plan to bring electric vehicles to the masses, but ramping up production has taken longer and been more challenging than originally anticipated. Tesla is targeting a weekly Model 3 production rate of 2,500 sedans by the end of this month and 5,000 by the end of June.