Elon Musk has shared a glimpse at the massive robotic arms now at work assembling its Model 3 electric cars.
The stunning footage released on Instagram shows one of the vehicles on the ‘body line’ as four huge red mechanisms carry out different tasks.
While it might seem like they’re working in real time, the pace is actually much faster than it appears; according to Musk, the footage has been slowed down to a tenth of the real speed.
The stunning footage released on Instagram shows one of the vehicles on the ‘body line’ as four huge red mechanisms carry out different tasks
The new video comes just a week after the Tesla boss admitted the team was in ‘production hell,’ as the company produced just 260 of the targeted 1,500 for the quarter.
On Friday, however, Musk said the company would be shifting its focus to address the Model 3 ‘bottlenecks.’
Now, Musk has offered a peak into the production process.
‘The Model 3 body line slowed down to 1/10th speed,’ Musk wrote on Instagram alongside the short clip.
In the video, sparks can be seen flying as the robotic arms assemble different parts of the car.
Last week, Elon Musk revealed the firm is delaying plans to unveil its electric truck to boost battery production for Puerto Rico and focus on the Model 3.
‘Tesla Semi unveil now Nov 16,’ Musk tweeted.
‘Diverting resources to fix Model 3 bottlenecks & increase battery production for Puerto Rico & other affected areas.’
The electric carmaker’s chief executive pushed back the launch of its semi-truck which had been set to be unveiled October 26 in California.
In a series of exchanges on Twitter Thursday and Friday, Musk said the company could help restore electricity to Puerto Rico – whose power system was decimated by Hurricane Maria – by using solar panels and batteries.
Responding to a tweet asking if Tesla could help, Musk answered: ‘The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too.’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks his company can come to the rescue of Puerto Rico after the island’s fragile electricity grid was completely wiped out by Hurricane Maria last week
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosello joined the conversation, tweeting to Musk: ‘Let’s talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project.’
Musk then responded: ‘I would be happy to talk. Hopefully, Tesla can be helpful.’
He later tweeted ‘medical equipment has priority’ when asked how the firm can help.
He also hit out at installers who were charging premiums to install the firm’s battery pack on the island, promising to address the issue.
He also said Tesla was ‘Sending experienced installers from continental US to hire & train local team as fast as possible.’
Musk on Thursday proposed that Tesla install a solar panel grid that would enable Puerto Rico to move away from fossil fuel-powered electricity
Rossello tweeted to Musk: ‘Let’s talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project.’
It comes amid worries about whether Tesla would meet its promises on production of its Model 3 mass-market sedan in the months ahead sent the electric car maker’s shares more than 2 percent lower on Tuesday as those in rivals climbed.
Musk recently admitted the team was in ‘production hell’, and warned users to ‘assume the worst’ when asked about delays that could push the first deliveries from October to December.
Tesla strove to play down any longer term risks to the company’s targets when it published delivery numbers on Monday that showed output continuing to rise but ‘bottlenecks’ preventing it meeting its Model 3 targets.
The company, which warned when it launched the sedan in July that it was entering ‘manufacturing hell’, has so far delivered just 220 Model 3 cars and produced 260 during the quarter.
Tesla said on Monday its deliveries rose 4.5 percent in the third quarter from the prior-year period, but said ‘production bottlenecks’ had left the company behind its planned ramp-up for the new Model 3
It had targeted 1,500 sedans in the quarter and to take production to 5,000 a week by the end of the year.
‘We see the 5k a week production goal to exit 2017 at risk given the lack of disclosure provided in fixing the ‘handful’ of subsystems that are taking longer than expected,’ said Cowen and Co analysts, who already rate Tesla an underperform.
‘We remain negative on shares given the execution that is currently priced in despite anticipated competition and capital needs.’
Others were more upbeat, arguing dips in a stock that has climbed 60 percent this year may be an opportunity to buy.
‘Most auto launches have hiccups, and Tesla is no exception,’ Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note.
TESLA’S ELECTRIC SEMI-TRUCK
The entrepreneur has teased the trucking industry with the prospect of a battery-powered heavy-duty vehicle.
Tesla hopes that such a vehicle could compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel.
Tesla’s electric big-rig truck could have a working range of 200 to 300 miles to compete with more conventional diesels.
Tesla hopes that such its vehicle could compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel
Tesla said that there were no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain and production issues would be addressed in the near term.
‘Although Model 3 deliveries were slightly below the range, production challenges were expected for the first quarter of Model 3 production, and we expect production to significantly increase in Q4,’ Baird analysts wrote in a note.
Tesla said overall its deliveries rose 4.5 percent in the third quarter from the prior-year period, but said ‘production bottlenecks’ had left the company behind its planned ramp-up for the new Model 3 mass-market sedan.
Tesla said it delivered 26,150 vehicles in the third quarter, including 14,065 Model S vehicles and 11,865 Model X cars, up 17.7 percent from the second quarter of this year.
The company, based in Palo Alto, California, delivered just 220 Model 3 sedans and produced 260 during the quarter.
It began production in July of the Model 3, which starts at $35,000, half the starting price of the Model S.
The first 30 models were handed over to customers during a glitzy ceremony at the company’s factory in California last Friday. It came two days after the environment secretary Michael Gove announced a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2040
Tesla launched production of the Model 3 in July and said in early August that it was ‘confident’ it could hit production of just over 1,500 cars per week in the third quarter.
‘It is important to emphasize that there are no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain,’ Tesla said in a statement.
‘We understand what needs to be fixed and we are confident of addressing the manufacturing bottleneck issues in the near-term.’
Tesla said it was on track to deliver around 100,000 S and X models this year.
The production figures for the Model 3 are also well below the company’s earlier projections in a regulatory filing, when it said: ‘We expect to achieve a rate of 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of 2017.’
Tesla-CEO Elon Musk speaks during the delivery of the first more reasonable Tesla vehicle Model 3 in Fremont, US, 28 July 2017.
The company rushed this year to launch the Model 3 sedan and quickly ramp up production to reach a target of 500,000 cars per year in 2018 Tesla said on Monday that a handful of systems at its Fremont, California, car plant and its battery factory in Reno, Nevada, ‘have taken longer to activate than expected.’
The automaker said 4,820 Model S and X vehicles were in transit to customers at the end of the third quarter and would be counted with its fourth-quarter figures.
In after-market trading, Tesla shares fell more than 1 percent to $337.84, from the close on Nasdaq of $341.53.