Tesla Pauses Model 3 Production Again

Tesla Inc. is suspending production of its Model 3 electric sedan for 4-5 days this month to again tackle problems with automated equipment.

Employees tell BuzzFeed News that Model 3 assemblers have been told to take vacation days or stay home without pay during the shutdown. Workers who build the company’s Model S car and Model X crossover EVs aren’t affected by the suspension.

The production pause comes two months after a similar stoppage to fix Model 3 production bottlenecks blamed on automation. Tesla describes the pause, as it did in February, as routine downtime during the production ramp-up phase.

Tesla had expected to reach weekly output of 2,500 Model 3 cars by the end of the first quarter but barely achieved a pace of 2,000 units at the end of March. CEO Elon Musk predicts output will climb to 5,000 cars per week in the current quarter.