
Tesla Asks for Model 3 Factory Volunteers to Prove ‘Haters’ Wrong - jrpelkonen
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-29/tesla-urges-workers-to-prove-haters-wrong-ramp-up-production
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addicted
I'm a huge Musk/Tesla fan (maybe even a fanboy), but the idea of volunteering
so Elon can earn his $55Bn bonus is unnerving to say the least.

~~~
sampo
The Bloomberg article is written in a very confusing manner (journalists these
days) but I understood it means they are asking people to volunteer to switch
from the S and X production lines to the Model 3 production line. Not to
volunteer to work without salary. Perhaps I understood the article wrong?

~~~
refurb
Sounds like the S and X lines are shut down and those employees will not get
paid (have to take vacation or unpaid time off) unless they volunteer for the
Model 3 line.

My guess is that this email was intentionally leaked to create buzz.

~~~
melling
“Tesla will suspend Model S and Model X production Thursday and Friday because
it’s ahead of target on building those this quarter,”

They are shutting down the line for 2 days to focus on the Model 3 because
they are so far behind. They can use some of the people on the Model 3 but 9
women can’t make a baby in a month. Some people will be able to “volunteer” to
work and they’ll get paid.

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jonknee
Meanwhile according to the fanboys in /r/teslamotors it appears deliveries are
still riddled with obvious defects. Look at the rims on this _brand new_
vehicle!

[https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/87wbxv/model_3...](https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/87wbxv/model_3_delivery_today_scratched_rim_charge_port/)

~~~
pooya13
How are they fanboys if they criticize the assembly?

~~~
make3
I think he means that it's going so poorly that even a fanboy sub can't do
anything but complain, which would be a pretty bad sign

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melling
Tesla is only at around 1,000 cars pers week on the Model 3. There’s a link in
the article where you can track Model 3 production:

[https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-tesla-
tracker/](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-tesla-tracker/)

Their goal is 10,000 cars a week by the end of the year. Yesterday there was
talk that Tesla used too much automation:

[https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/28/tesla-is-overusing-
automat...](https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/28/tesla-is-overusing-automation-
in-model-3-final-assembly-analysts-say/)

~~~
legitster
> Tesla has accomplished something no other automaker can claim: It's made a
> relatively affordable electric car.

That remains to be seen. Selling something at a loss doesn't equate with
making something affordable.

~~~
Someone1234
> > Tesla has accomplished something no other automaker can claim: It's made a
> relatively affordable electric car.

That quote doesn't even make sense. The Model 3 isn't even the cheapest all
electric car...

The Smart Fortwo Electric ($26K), Nissan LEAF ($29K), Volkswagen e-Golf
($30K), and Mitsubishi i-MiEV ($23K).

So Tesla is the only automaker that can claim they made a "relatively
affordable electric car" by producing one that's more expensive and has sold
fewer units? I do not understand.

~~~
piyh
Those cars have a range between 58 miles and 125.

~~~
Someone1234
How about we stick to the claim at hand instead of trying to spin the topic
into more favorable avenues. The quote was:

> > Tesla has accomplished something no other automaker can claim: It's made a
> relatively affordable electric car.

Nobody is arguing that Tesla's vehicles have no merit, we're picking apart
that absurd claim.

~~~
jandrese
Wasn't that goal already met by the EV1 back in the 80s? If you're willing to
live with compromises (short range and long recharge times), affordable
electric cars are a long since solved problem.

~~~
dragonwriter
> Wasn't that goal already met by the EV1 back in the 80s?

The EV1 wasn't for sale at any price, so it also wasn't relatively affordable.
It was leased at a loss to meet a state law while GM lobbied against the law.
(Same with its contemporaries the Toyota RAV4EV and the Honda EVplus.)

~~~
stevenwoo
Pretty sure the RAV4EV was sold in limited quantities, there's at least two
different ones I have seen in downtown Los Altos over the past 10 years, so
Toyota didn't try to destroy them all like GM did with the EV1.

~~~
dragonwriter
That's right, I had some RAV4 EVs were sold after the leases when the line was
discontinued (though you may have also seen the newer RAV4 EV, as it was
resurrected in 2012.)

------
Animats
"Work harder, not smarter".

An auto assembly line is a custom-built machine a thousand feet long. It runs
as fast as the slowest station. Its reject rate is determined by the worst
station. Every station is custom designed for the product. This is not an easy
thing to debug while also trying to use it for production.

On the other hand, Tesla has a relatively simple vehicle without much
variation. It's a sled with a body on top. The power train is all in the sled.
That simplifies assembly. There are US assembly lines which make a whole range
of similar vehicles on the same line. Tesla doesn't do that. They don't have a
foundry and IC engine plant at all. What they're doing is well within
automotive assembly technology.

Everybody is guessing. Tesla is so secretive that nobody outside really knows
what's wrong with their assembly line. Do they have a few troublesome
stations, or many random failures? Custom tooling that's not quite right? A
high alarm rate from sensors, causing line stops? No buffering into a station
that has variable time, so the line upstream stalls? One station that needs to
be split into two, but there's no room? Supplier problems? Aluminum stamping
problems? Not enough experienced manufacturing engineers?

Their secrecy isn't helping them. Analysts are assuming the worst. They'd
probably look better if they had a reporter who really knows auto factories
visit for a few days and write up an honest evaluation.

------
soperj
They do this every single quarter. There's a reason they got up to 1000 a week
right before the end of last quarter, and then dipped back down for months
after that. The headline is either going to be that they're on track or that
they're not, their stock price is going to be greatly affected one way or the
other.

~~~
refurb
That actually makes sense. If during quarterly earnings they can claim X
number of car _the last week of the quarter_ , that will have a significant
impact on the stock even if the week after it drops 50%.

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matchagaucho
Man.... if this doesn't trigger a NLRB vote to unionize then I've given up
hope on there ever being a working middle class with 40 hr work week, decent
pay, and benefits.

~~~
otakucode
That went out in the 1980s. Suggesting a single income from 40 hours a week of
work should be able to comfortably support an entire family is now akin to
radical socialism. Not quite as extreme as it was originally (at the time it
constituted demanding most employers raise their labor costs by 600% or more)
but moving in that direction every single day.

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matte_black
Wondering if I should just short TSLA. Already canceled my model 3 preorder I
had placed some time back.

~~~
toomuchtodo
I say short it. If you’re right, you’ll profit. If you’re wrong, it’ll be
phenomenally exciting to watch.

~~~
matte_black
Probably not much downside left at the current price though. Might have to
wait.

------
keketi
If Tesla wants to "prove the haters wrong" by pressuring their employees to
work harder it is enough proof that the haters are right.

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twblalock
I wonder if Tesla will experience an assembly line version of the Mythical Man
Month.

I assume the Model 3 line is a bit different from the others, because if it
was the same, they wouldn't have so much trouble meeting targets. So the
workers who switch to it from other assembly lines will presumably need some
time to ramp up.

~~~
astrodust
Elon Musk may be a good visionary but it's astounding how bad he is at
operational elements.

Steve Jobs was just as awful at this, the Macintosh project was nearly killed
by his ridiculous manufacturing efforts. The resurgence of Apple was only
possible with someone like Tim Cook who knew how to build a reliable
manufacturing supply chain.

Elon should be focusing on finding his Tim.

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IwantMyt3
I live in Florida but would come volunteer. Is there a way I can do that. I do
have a vested interest since I am on the list for a 3.

but if you workers on MY X line and I needed you to work on MY 3 line I am not
sure I would ASK. They work for Tesla motors not Tesla Motors X line.
(employees these days ;) )

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jijojv
I hate that his self-driving vaporware/scam is more than a year late. Please
prove me wrong too ASAP.

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vkou
Will the executive who finds traders shorting his stock insulting volunteer
his bonus to the line workers volunteering their weekends?

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pooya13
The article uses the word "volunteer", but then it does not provide any
evidence that the workers are not being paid. So I would use the word
"employee"... Obviously they can offer to pay their workers more for longer
hours what's wrong with that??

~~~
UncleEntity
You either "volunteer" or you get an unpaid day off if you work on the other
production lines.

~~~
pooya13
Where did you read that? It said you either take an unpaid day or use paid
vacation day. Never mentioned anything about having to volunteer. I do agree
that it is not proper practice to have your workers take unpaid off days when
they might depend on the income.

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sambull
My brother is a fanboy og on the forums, out there taking model3 action shots
at the track. He volunteers; he has been waiting send his invite fam.

