Tesla’s Musk Takes Charge of Model 3 Production as Problems Persist

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/teslas-musk-takes-charge-of-model-3-production-as-problems-persist

by bobsil1 • 8 years ago

91 67 8 years ago

theinformation.com

Someone1234• 8 years ago

Here's an article not behind a paywall:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/02/elon-musk-takes-charge-of-te...

amerine2• 8 years ago

Thanks!

trollied• 8 years ago

Musk has tweeted:

“Can’t believe you’re even writing about this. My job as CEO is to focus on what’s most critical, which is currently Model 3 production. Doug, who I regard as one of the world’s most talented engineering execs, is focused on vehicle engineering.”

https://mobile.twitter.com/elonmusk/status/98091067176319385...

praneshp• 8 years ago

He has also tweeted : "About a year ago, I asked Doug to manage both engineering & production. He agreed that Tesla needed eng & prod better aligned, so we don’t design cars that are crazy hard to build. Right now, tho, better to divide & conquer, so I’m back to sleeping at factory. Car biz is hell …"

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/980913157739765761

beltex• 8 years ago

"Can’t believe you’re even writing about this. My job as CEO is to focus on what’s most critical, which is currently Model 3 production. Doug, who I regard as one of the world’s most talented engineering execs, is focused on vehicle engineering."

"About a year ago, I asked Doug to manage both engineering & production. He agreed that Tesla needed eng & prod better aligned, so we don’t design cars that are crazy hard to build. Right now, tho, better to divide & conquer, so I’m back to sleeping at factory. Car biz is hell …"

[1] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/980910671763193856

[2] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/980913157739765761

loceng• 8 years ago

I can only imagine how much experience and knowledge Elon is gaining by micromanaging (a good thing) this much, compared to say how much the top executive at other vehicle manufacturers have evolved to become.

Edit: Downvotes on this comment? Really? What, do you think you're able to imagine the amount of experience he's getting? Do you think the top execs at other manufacturers have the same experience and hands-on approach?

asdsa5325• 8 years ago

I think the reason why you are getting downvotes is "micromanaging (a good thing)"

pasbesoin• 8 years ago

I don't mean to overly shill for "In Search of Excellence". (And yeah, I remember when it came out.)

But I just happened to catch the bulk of an hour long interview with its author, Tom Peters, today.

https://the1a.org/shows/2018-04-02/excellence-explained

And the parent comment reminds me of what he had to say about MBWA -- Management By Wandering Around.

It doesn't exactly fit what it appears Musk is currently doing. But as for the experience gained and benefit of being down on the floor, on the front line. Well, Peters' enthusiasm and description of same, seemed on point, to me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_by_wandering_around

If there are problems, at least Musk is not sitting in his office, learning of them and trying to deal with them through layers of reports (both people and paper/electrons/photons).

P.S. As a possible counter-balance to this, I'll mention the complaints that have been reported about worker welfare on those same production lines. To the extent those are true, they would be in opposition to the practices Peters espouses.

stannol• 8 years ago

From personal experience I can say that I am certain that both Dieter Zetsche and Harald Krüger know more about basically every aspect of producing cars than Elon Musk ever will. Both are very much hands-on people and have 3-4 decades of experience.

iooi• 8 years ago

Why would he even engage this, he just turned it into an actual story.

FireBeyond3• 8 years ago

I don't really get this. "What's the story here? Everything is running exactly as planned. Now I'm sleeping at the factory because it's hell."

One of those things doesn't sound much like the other.

omarforgotpwd4• 8 years ago

Most people who understand how difficult it is to produce a new line of cars, or have been listening closely to what Elon has been saying pretty much expected that ramping up production would be hard and Tesla would miss their goals many times. Tesla has never delivered a car on time. But there is enormous demand for this car and they will eventually make it work. At the current run rate they are already able to produce around 100,000 Model 3 per year, and are ramping up quickly

jijojv2• 8 years ago

Learn much from overcommitting and under-delivering yet [1]

Still waiting on the self-driving vaporware that thousands paid advance for...

1. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/823727035088416768 3 months maybe, 6 months definitely 23 Jan 2017

Shivetya2• 8 years ago

The NHTSA faulted Tesla for the last fatal crash and its likely they will get faulted for the current. I am just shocked that after this one that they haven't suspended its use. The level of chutzpah this company operates at is very dangerous to its future but the public as well.

The production issues are a whole different can of worms but the autonomous driving accidents are what the public sees.

People need to understand that Tesla is not the only company that can deliver self driving hardware nor are they the only manufacturer of EVs. They are currently the maker of the more desired EV but with some of the old school automakers joining the fray they will see their high end model profit vanish.

finally, I am still not convinced they ever plan to actually sell a base model.

downvote edit Please see an owner recreation using the same version AP with the same condition zhttps://youtu.be/6QCF8tVqM3I

What is the rational thought it permitting that on the road.

dewski2• 8 years ago

Why aren't you convinced they ever plan to sell a base model? They've been very clear when in their production schedule they would ship the base model. It makes sense to get the production nailed down with all possible options then scale back for basic models then to start basic and go through production pains making more complex models.

jijojv2• 8 years ago

They don't have to suspend Autopilot as legally they can claim they require you to be fully alert at all times. Of-course this negates all benefits of Autopilot and still let's them continue to scam people into selling Tesla's as more safer than common adaptive cruise control.

calvinbhai• 8 years ago

The same rationale that applies for allowing cars with Cruise Control? Is it impossible to have a fatal crash when you set the car on cruise control and doze off? Chances are probably exponentially higher than that of a Tesla on an Autopilot.

dewski2• 8 years ago

This article feels a bit over reaching to meet the current narrative that Tesla is failing. As someone who has owned a Tesla, I'd much rather they ramp when they are ready to ramp than skip steps just to hit their targets. QA is a very important step that they have to get right.

keyle• 8 years ago

I have no interest or involvment in Tesla. But from an outsider's perspective I can't help but notice that when you're this little company with no chance of making it, the press is very bulish about your company.

As soon as you become large, they look up at you and can't wait to see you fall, overly negative.

Who thought making cars was difficult? And mass production? And electrical cars, pushing the boundaries or batteries.

The light are still on in the factory, so the company's doing well.

duhast• 8 years ago

Tesla revenue in 2017 exceeded 12bln$. How is Tesla “little”?

amerine2• 8 years ago

You missed the OPs point entirely. He literally said that now Tesla is big they are rooting for its failure.

CharlesW• 8 years ago

But from an outsider's perspective I can't help but notice that when you're this little company with no chance of making it, the press is very bulish about your company. As soon as you become large, they look up at you and can't wait to see you fall, overly negative.

This isn't just a press bias, but a seemingly-universal human bias.

[1] https://undark.org/article/why-we-root-for-the-underdog/

WheelsAtLarge• 8 years ago

His big problem is over promise. Yes, he promises big but does not deliver. The press loves to play both sides. It reports the promises and the lack of delivery on his part too. The press couldn't care either way as long as it brings in readers.

heisenbergs• 8 years ago

He only overpromises when it comes to timelines. Most other things he actually achieves. Elontime is a real thing though...

unknown_apostle• 8 years ago

I would say the big problem is financial. Tesla is not profitable and needs money. The thing which keeps the lights on is the willingness of investors to keep supporting high valuations of stock and bonds.

sametmax• 8 years ago

Oh come on ! The guy delivered the first practical electrical car and a freaking spaceship 10 time cheapers than the competition.

Show me somebody in this comment thread that remotely matches this.

Of course he messes it up and he is late. He is not creating a twitter clone.

api• 8 years ago

There seems to be a strong anti-Tesla campaign afoot. I'm not surprised given that the entire auto industry wants them to fail and a significant portion of the auto industry (and unions, etc.) want EVs to fail in general.

Tesla seems to be having some severe growing pains, but I have learned not to count Elon or any of his ventures out. Self-landing reusable rockets were impossible too according to pretty much the entire aerospace industry. If it comes down to it Tesla could still raise quite a bit of money almost overnight, albeit probably with more dilution than they would prefer. I have little doubt that they will eventually scale up. Question is how much blood they will have to spill in the form of liquidity and market cap before they get there.

ams6110• 8 years ago

Self-landing reusable rockets were impossible too according to pretty much the entire aerospace industry.

I guess they didn't ask the people who designed and built the Apollo lunar landing modules in the 1960s?

kryptiskt• 8 years ago

Self-landing reusable rockets were impossible too according to pretty much the entire aerospace industry.

Only if they have forgotten the DC-X, which I doubt they have done.

cornellwright• 8 years ago

The press loves controversy.

omarforgotpwd4• 8 years ago

People are so excited about Tesla that they may overlook the risks. It is responsible of the press to highlight the problems Tesla faces so people can make responsible financial decisions when buying Tesla bonds and stocks, and so Tesla is pressured to minimize these risks.

agumonkey• 8 years ago

I thought he was already sleeping at the factory..

I wish success to Tesla, at least a little bit, but I'm really curious to know how they fixed their assembly line

mvpu• 8 years ago

Wait. The author wants me to pay for what appears to be an outside-in, uneducated, irrelevant take on Tesla's internal problems? No thank you. Let them deal with it.

rdlecler1• 8 years ago

I think Musk is outstanding, but I could never see how he could run SpaceX, Tesla, OpenAI, the Boaring Company, Hyperloop all at the same time. It could be twice as Smart as the next smartest individual on the planet but there’s no free lunch. Time spent in one place is time given up somewhere else. We’ve known that Tesla has had production problems for a long time and if I was on the board I would have said drop all of your side projects and focus on fixing this company. I’m sure Musk has fired people for a lot less.

serf• 8 years ago

Ah yes, the tried-and-true method of jump-starting a project by adding managers.

mdekkers• 8 years ago

paywalled

Tesla’s Musk Takes Charge of Model 3 Production as Problems Persist

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