New Wired Article- Elon's Production Hell

[CT Owner Vito]

In reading the Wired article, it brought back all of those Tesla memories....I took delivery of Model 3 VIN number 1927 on 12/21/17 during all of the craziness...

Just curious. Are you bragging or complaining?

 

[RandyS]

Neither one, Vito. Just relating to the story...

 

[cyberoak]

Watch Munro Live videos, Sandy and his team have no skin in the game and aren't part of the legacy media propaganda machine that is anti-Elon. They will give it strait like they did in a recent video questioning the overall nature of 1 piece assembly for the seats risers.

https://www.youtube.com/@MunroLive

 

[Keeney]

Tesla is not bad at manufacturing, they excel at it! I don't see GM or Ford making anything even close to the Cybertruck, and certainly not as efficiently either. If GM made the Cybertruck, which is actually impossible on so many levels, it would have taken over 14 years to bring to market, would have been rife with problems, cost $165K to buy and $225K to manufacture. But that would never happen.

Disagree. Ford brought the Lightning to market almost 2 years before Tesla sold their first CT. The Lightning is competitive on many specs, beating the CT on some things, less on others. Ford and GM manufacture millions of trucks per year and they are not "rife with problems".

I would also caution against confusing per-unit direct costs and overall tooling/factory capital costs which divide out by the number of units built.

 

[Keeney]

Some feedback on one of the Musk stories. Specifically the comment about 4 bolts vs 2. There is an old truism that experienced engineers would know. If you fasten something on a vehicle with one fastening means (think one bolt and no other constraints) expect it to fall off right away. Two fasteners may keep it on long enough to get past the warranty period. Three or more are generally required to constrain the part such that it cannot wiggle itself loose.

 

[Keeney]

The comment about the body plugs is kind of questionable. Those are not just for water tightness for wading through flood waters. Plenty of reasons you don't want holes in your floorboards or cabin panels. Slush and winter driving. Cold drafts. Road and engine/battery heat intrusion. Insects and rodent intrusion. Exhaust intrusion (on an ICE vehicle). Sharp edges of the holes in plated or painted steel panels are also more prone to corrosion starting there. Musk's mfg speedup of deleting the plugs may have reduced the long term durability and quality of the vehicle in subtle ways that he may not have considered.

 

[shellac]

come on man, if you’re going to spread anti-Tesla drivel at least choose some recent propaganda. 2018??? there have been a ton of anti Tesla stories since then.

 

[Woodrick]

In reading the Wired article, it brought back all of those Tesla memories....I took delivery of Model 3 VIN number 1927 on 12/21/17 during all of the craziness...

Got me beat by about 17,000 VINs and 5 months.

 

[lowtek]

Has anyone read these new articles detailing more info about Tesla production? It is scathing and could help explain the issues many of us are facing, with CT and other models.

I attached the important pics from the article, but included other articles stating the same thing at the bottom. This is not isolated.

This has always been my worst fear, that behind the scenes production and design are seriously flawed. I love Teslas. I love the vehicles. I love the concept. I would love nothing but Teslas until I die. But there has been a serious issue with the leadership and the exec team. For what it's worth, this isn't the first organization that has written an article like this, with inside sources. Many different news outlets have. It's documented that Tesla leadership has a serious problem with production, and quite frankly most departments. I've always supported Tesla but something has to change.

I am of the thinking that if a more competent and responsible direction was taken by Tesla execs, we would be in a much better situation with our CTs (and all Teslas). I realize this next issues is regional, but the SC in my area is not reliable or knowledgeable. I like the people, but they are a nightmare to work with. Delays, issues, parts...you name it.

I feel like I canonly look the other way on production/QA/Safety issues for so long. I want to support Tesla, but they have been making it so difficult lately.

What do you all think? What can we do (if anything) as supporters to try and get this company back on the right track? It has more potential than any other car company in the world, imo. I do hold a few shares, but I'm a small fish- unable to make an impact as a shareholder.

* Related older articles:
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/08/17...-in-raw-sewage-sleeping-on-the-factory-floor/
https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/

2018 called ... they want their news back ...

Wired is still around?