Mexican Media Brands
Tesla Reveals Production Details for Model 3 EV
Tesla Motors Inc. is telling suppliers it aims to build 100,000 of its upcoming Model 3 electric sedans in 2017 and 400,000 in 2018, sources tell Reuters.
#hybrid
Share
Tesla Motors Inc. is telling suppliers it aims to build 100,000 of its upcoming Model 3 electric sedans in 2017 and 400,000 in 2018, sources tell Reuters.
Both targets are double the original goals. Tesla says it also expects annual output of its current Model S and Model X electrics to reach a combined 100,000 units by then. Those volumes compare with the company’s record 50,000-unit output last year.
Tesla aims to launch pilot production of the $35,000 Model 3 in July 2017 and begin customer deliveries before year-end. All three of the company’s EVs will be assembled at its factory in Fremont, Calif.
But industry experts point out that Tesla’s extremely short production goals are ambitious even for seasoned vehicle manufacturers. They note there are only a few factories in North America capable of making 500,000 vehicles in one year—and each one is operated by a seasoned carmaker with decades of manufacturing experience.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acknowledged the company won’t finalize the Model 3’s design and engineering specifications until next month. Manufacturing consultants tell Reuters it would take at least 18 months to order, build and install the machinery required to meet the company’s production targets.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Startup Readies Solar-Powered EV
Germany’s Sono Motors GmbH says it has received 5,000 orders for its upcoming Sion electric car, which can be partially recharged by it attached solar panels.
-
On Ford Maverick, Toyota Tundra Hybrid, and GM's Factory Footprint
GM is transforming its approach to the auto market—and its factories. Ford builds a small truck for the urban market. Toyota builds a full-size pickup and uses a hybrid instead of a diesel. And Faurecia thinks that hydrogen is where the industry is going.
-
Chevy Develops eCOPO Camaro: The Fast and the Electric
The notion that electric vehicles were the sort of thing that well-meaning professors who wear tweed jackets with elbow patches drove in order to help save the environment was pretty much annihilated when Tesla added the Ludicrous+ mode to the Model S which propelled the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds.