With its bonds and stocks in freefall amid concerns that the company will run out of cash in the summer, Tesla management is desperately shifting its priorities to Model 3 production, as Bloomberg reports the company plans to shutdown the S and X production line and give a limited number of workers the option to work on the crucial Model 3 line instead.
The market is not buying it for now…
And that collapse in asset prices has upset one man in particular (via Bloomberg)
Doug Field, senior vice president of engineering, said if the team can exceed 300 Model 3s a day it would be an “incredible victory” at a time when some investors are casting doubt on the company and shorting its stock.
“I find that personally insulting, and you should too. Let’s make them regret ever betting against us,” Field wrote in the March 23 email. “You will prove a bunch of haters wrong.”
At the time of Field’s email, Tesla was making more than 200 Model 3 sedans a day on every line, he wrote. Field urged workers to quickly break through the 300-cars-a-day barrier and keep going, while keeping quality standards high.
“The world is watching us very closely, to understand one thing: How many Model 3’s can Tesla build in a week?” Field wrote.
“This is a critical moment in Tesla’s history, and there are a number of reasons it’s so important. You should pick the one that hits you in the gut and makes you want to win.”
But what if the quality of the builds remains as dismal as it has been reported to be?
As a gentle reminder, the firm did the same in December and it did not end well: Build Fast, Fix Later: Tesla Employees Say 90% Of Model S/X Cars Fail Quality Checks After Assembly
The most recent collapse has pushed Tesla’s market cap back below that of Ford’s and GM’s – almost exactly a year to the date when the ‘tech’ company overtook the ‘carmakers’…
Tick tock, Elon.
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