Tesla has proven in the past that it’s capable of unorthodox measures to get certain work aspects done and apparently, it’s dipping into that well one more time after a Reuters report revealed that the electric car maker plans to shut down its production facility in California for a week beginning this month. The reason behind it? Prepare for production for the Model 3 sedan.
In some aspects, such a move isn’t that strange when you consider that other companies have done it in the past in one form or another. But Tesla is a different because it has little flexibility making “brief, planned” pauses in production for a period of time. But the automaker appears to have decided on the issue as it prepares to add capacity to its facility to accommodate the coming production of the Model 3.
A Tesla spokesman even confirmed to the news outlet about the plans, saying that “this will allow Tesla to begin Model 3 production later this year as planned and enable us to start the ramp towards 500,000 vehicles annually in 2018.”
Apparently, Tesla also plans to begin test-building the Model 3 later this month, which could be part of the reason why the facility is being shut down. The goal it seems is to gauge the capability of the production plant in Freemont, California to accommodate the massive spike in production volume that will inevitably happen once the Model 3 begins production. Remember, Tesla wasted little time shouting from the heavens last May that it had received more 370,000 refundable $1,000 deposits for the Model 3, highlighting the massive demand for the car that the company believes is its ticket in breaking into the mainstream auto scene.
The timetable set for the pilot production of the Model 3 also coincides with the company’s conference call with shareholders to report its fourth-quarter results. Apparently, Tesla wants to make a good impression in that conference call and positive news surrounding the upcoming production of the Model 3 could go a long way in appeasing its shareholders.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2kNJl4j
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