Tesla workers spill the beans on what it took to hit the Model 3 target
Elon Musk is in danger of wearing down his workforce, they warn, as he pulled workers off other lines and ripped up the policy on weekend work
San Francisco — A tense and short-tempered CEO Elon Musk barked at engineers on the Fremont, California assembly line. Tesla pulled workers from other departments to keep pumping out the Model 3 electric sedans, disrupting production of the Model S and X lines. And weekend shifts were mandatory. Tesla pulled out all the stops in the final week of June to meet its goal of making 5,000 Model 3s in a week, according to employees who spoke to Reuters. Whether Tesla can do it week in and week out — and without relying on overtime and extra hands — is another question, and one that weighed on investors Monday, as shares slumped 2.3%. Leading up to Sunday morning’s production milestone, Musk paced the Model 3 line, snapping at his engineers when the around-the-clock production slowed or stopped due to problems with robots, one worker said. Tesla built a new line in just two weeks in a huge tent outside the main factory, an unprecedented move in an industry that takes years to plan out its ...
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