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Tesla’s Chief Engineer Takes a Sabbatical

Tesla Inc. engineering chief Doug Field has taken a leave of absence as the electric car company continues to struggle with the launch of its critical Model 3 sedan.
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Tesla Inc. engineering chief Doug Field has taken a leave of absence for several weeks as the electric car company continues to struggle with the launch of its critical Model 3 sedan, The Wall Street Journal reports.

CEO Elon Musk asked Field, who joined the company from Apple Inc. in 2013, to also take charge of production a year ago. But Musk opted to seize control of manufacturing at the end of March as Model 3 output continued to lag.

Tesla originally aimed to achieve weekly production of 5,000 Model 3 cars by the end of March. It later cut that target to 2,500 units but fell short of that goal too. Now the company predicts it will reach weekly output of 5,000 units by the end of July.

The Information, which revealed Musk’s move last month, says Peter Hochholdinger, vice president of production lines, now reports to Musk rather than Field. The online publication notes that Musk also has assumed the management lead of Tesla’s sale team and battery “mega-factory” over the past three months.

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