Tesla's Model 3 Is Still Out-Built By 70 Other Cars On US Soil

While Tesla celebrates finally passing the 2000 cars per week mark, industry observers have pointed out how slow and inefficient the process still is...
Tesla's Model 3 Is Still Out-Built By 70 Other Cars On US Soil

Tesla is finally getting to grips with Model 3 production, but new analysis has revealed just how far off the pace the firm really is.

As Elon Musk’s disruptive EV-maker appeals to shareholders by finally building more than 2000 Model 3s in a single week, industry analysts have pointed out that some 70 other models are being built faster in North American factories.

Tesla's Model 3 Is Still Out-Built By 70 Other Cars On US Soil

Tesla has long been accused of underestimating the importance of myriad tiny but crucial elements of car production; elements that the likes of Ford and Honda have long since mastered. Ford is currently building around 1100 Escape SUVs every day in a single factory, while Honda’s Canadian plant in Alliston, Ontario, needs just 3.5 human workers per car produced.

By contrast Tesla is cranking out just 289 Model 3s per day at best, and is paying 35 workers for every car that emerges. These phenomenal inefficiencies are said to be hurting shareholder confidence – and, inevitably, Tesla itself.

Tesla's Model 3 Is Still Out-Built By 70 Other Cars On US Soil

Tesla’s aim is to build 5000 Model 3s per week, equivalent to around 714 per day. A Bloomberg business analysis makes some excellent points about how far off the pace Tesla still is. It reads:

“Making a car, of course, requires a lot more than warm bodies. Managing supply chains and workflow is even more critical. The Bayerische Motoren Werke AG complex in Spartanburg, South Carolina, works with 235 different suppliers, and four out of five cars it screws together receive some level of specified customization. Tesla’s new machine, in comparison, comes in just three trims.

Tesla's Model 3 Is Still Out-Built By 70 Other Cars On US Soil

“Achieving such precision takes time and practice. Automakers usually go through a preproduction process that can take up to nine months. During this time, engineers calibrate the massive sentient robots’ arms to get the body panels fitting tightly and figure out the minutiae that make the difference between an assembly line running smoothly and stopping frequently.

“Every detail is studied from where the fenders should be stacked to how many bolts should be piled in a rolling tray that accompanies a vehicle down the assembly line. In its haste to produce the Model 3, Tesla skipped this page of the traditional automaker’s playbook.”

Source: Bloomberg

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Comments

Anonymous

I wonder how many ‘Tesla is going to go bankrupt’ comments the comments section will have..

04/04/2018 - 07:41 |
2 | 0
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Many.

And it is a possibility.

04/04/2018 - 07:43 |
4 | 3
Tomislav Celić

Can they build 5000 cars a week

Yes

Can they build 5000 cars a week without them having the must dumb issues ever?

No

04/04/2018 - 07:42 |
38 | 5
TheBagel

Ive seen a total of 2 of them. And I live in California.

04/04/2018 - 07:43 |
13 | 0
SirJamjaxIsGoingAgain-PeaceOutChaps

In reply to by TheBagel

I’ve seen 1 in California, but that was literally a road away from the factory

04/04/2018 - 09:31 |
3 | 0
Paul Beckman (slowtsx)

In reply to by TheBagel

Exactly. I’ve seen a total of what 4 of them? And in Vegas I saw about 7 of them on the Strip. Tesla, who is supposed to be a “mainstream” electric car manufacturer, and I’ve seen only a handful of Model 3s? Tesla this is sad.

04/04/2018 - 14:33 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Well, tesla didnt even excisted few decades ago meanwhile bmw and honda have been almost hundred years (correct me if im wrong). However tesla should have perfected the production from the get go. They 100% certainty watched how other companies build cars and would have got good info of minimizing bottlenecks and other stuff. And lastly that preproduction phase is essencial for mass production. Its better to start production late than suffer bad press from horrible bottlenecks.

04/04/2018 - 07:44 |
3 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

New car companies cant compete with old big companies if the quality of work isnt good enough from the start. Customers nowadays except good quality from over 30k€ cars.

04/04/2018 - 07:48 |
2 | 2
Tomislav Celić

Boi

04/04/2018 - 07:47 |
21 | 5

I wanna see the day, when tesla makes 9000-10000 cars a day 😅

04/04/2018 - 07:52 |
18 | 1

The number of Model 3s delivered up until the 1st quarter of 2018 is roughly equal to the number of Model Ts produced IN A SINGLE DAY in 1925.

Also, I wonder how many Model 3s will still be on the roads in the 22nd century…

04/04/2018 - 08:53 |
18 | 1

I mean, maybe the Ford gt

04/05/2018 - 12:04 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

If the Model 3 were a baby, the ultrasound pictures would probably look like this

04/04/2018 - 07:49 |
12 | 3
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Maybe because waiting for a Tesla to begin building once you purchase it take longer than giving birth to a baby.

04/04/2018 - 08:01 |
1 | 1
Aaron 15

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I thought that was Christian Von Koenigsegg looking to set a world record in the womb…

04/04/2018 - 08:06 |
17 | 0
Anonymous

Ah, Tesla build quality

04/04/2018 - 08:00 |
2 | 1
DL🏁

CT Editors: we need pictures of Model 3 for this article
Matt K: but there aren’t that many
CT Editors: come up with something
Matt K:

04/04/2018 - 08:00 |
167 | 0

Ha ha I see

04/04/2018 - 11:51 |
6 | 0

Wow an iPhone X i see there mister… Care to adopt me as a child? XD

04/04/2018 - 12:52 |
2 | 2

I just finished a photoshoot this past weekend with 2 red Model 3s, so CarThrottle if you need any of those pictures LET ME KNOW

04/04/2018 - 13:59 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

Tesla building the cars of the future and providing jobs.
Media: lets complain about everything they do.

*This isn’t aimed at car throttle, just media in general.

04/04/2018 - 08:01 |
2 | 6
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Also providing awful work conditions, bad built quality and shady business practices. But for fanboys it’s not a problem, because “Musk is a genius and he’s always right!”.

04/04/2018 - 08:29 |
14 | 1
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

cars of the future

Cars that have batteries that are built using some of the most polluting processes on earth.
Tesla is NOT going to revolutionise anything the way they work. Musk doesn’t care enough for Tesla to actually do stuff properly. Tesla can make losses upon losses, but the quality issues that have been there from the start are still there today. SpaceX is literally running Tesla, and Musk makes too many standout claims for anyone to ignore the “little problems”.
Tesla try to fit too many criteria, by making Sedans and SUVs that they claim are Luxury cars, that they price like luxury cars, but the only premium feature they have is their speed. Which, if you’re into that, you can get from a Dodge Demon for half the price.

TL DR: Tesla deserves the “nitpicking”, because they believe they’re good at too much stuff.

04/05/2018 - 00:37 |
1 | 1
Anonymous

I have seen 0 model 3, and i live in oslo, which i the place where there the elctric car densety is highest

04/04/2018 - 08:06 |
0 | 0