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LTLFTcomposite said:
Does beg the question what took them so long.

Well they have hired over 3000 people over the past year, and after their yearly review they had to let go of 400-700 of them. Perhaps its a bit high, but its hard to find good people when your growing at such a rapid pace. Hiring 50-100 people per week is hard to do and get all the right people in the right places.
 
edatoakrun said:
That sound's like an awfully high rate of "slackers" to me.

That doesn't happen in unionized American car factories, or even in other non-union USA car factories, other than during production cutbacks, AFAIK.

Maybe unfairly characterized, since the story did suggest most of those affected were outside of manufacturing. It's maybe not that surprising when you consider the current ramp-up effort. "Production Hell", as Musk put it, will emphasize the difference between strong and weak performers.
 
palmermd said:
LTLFTcomposite said:
Does beg the question what took them so long.

Well they have hired over 3000 people over the past year, and after their yearly review they had to let go of 400-700 of them. Perhaps its a bit high, but its hard to find good people when your growing at such a rapid pace. Hiring 50-100 people per week is hard to do and get all the right people in the right places.

What???

WHOA THERE!

They hired 3000 extra production workers is probably about right but how did you come up with 100% of the people fired as being on the production floor?
 
Nubo said:
...the story did suggest most of those affected were outside of manufacturing...
Actually, the reporting suggests most of the firings were of S/X production workers.

Sales and production of that platform leveled out at about 25k per quarter over a year ago, and TSLA has pretty much run out of any more new markets with unmet demand for future introductions.

The firings could simply be adjustments for increased production efficiency, or for expected declines in S/X production and sales levels in the future.
 
edatoakrun said:
Nubo said:
...the story did suggest most of those affected were outside of manufacturing...
Actually, the reporting suggests most of the firings were of S/X production workers.

Sales and production of that platform leveled out at about 25k per quarter over a year ago, and TSLA has pretty much run out of any more new markets with unmet demand for future introductions.

The firings could simply be adjustments for increased production efficiency, or for expected declines in S/X production and sales levels in the future.

Can you give us break...for a day!
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
edatoakrun said:
Nubo said:
...the story did suggest most of those affected were outside of manufacturing...
Actually, the reporting suggests most of the firings were of S/X production workers.

Sales and production of that platform leveled out at about 25k per quarter over a year ago, and TSLA has pretty much run out of any more new markets with unmet demand for future introductions.

The firings could simply be adjustments for increased production efficiency, or for expected declines in S/X production and sales levels in the future.

Can you give us break...for a day!

Right Dave, you need to take a break in building your post count, i.e. enjoy your Sunday.
 
sparky said:
edatoakrun said:
It is quite amusing to see such collective praise for a vehicle with no actual production examples built.
This does not look like it's being hand-built, so maybe a production line?
A report out today suggests that that video may reveal one of TSLA's model 3 production problems:

Why is Tesla struggling with the Model 3?

Welding woes may be the bottleneck


What's behind Tesla's manufacturing woes? It could be something as simple as steel.

Based on details in a Wall Street Journal report and in a video of the production line posted on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, experts say the electric vehicle maker appears to be struggling with welding together a mostly steel vehicle, as opposed to the primarily aluminum bodies of the Model S and Model X.

The company fell short of its third-quarter production target for the Model 3 — the lower-cost vehicle intended to mark Tesla's entry into the mass market.

With an influx of competitive EVs on the horizon, Tesla must iron out its manufacturing problems in the next few months or risk losing its competitive edge before the Model 3 reaches a larger audience.

"Before, there was only Tesla. Now, there's going to be dozens of alternatives," said Ron Harbour, a manufacturing consultant at Oliver Wyman. "They're going to have to get really efficient at manufacturing. They have to be cost competitive and price competitive to stay in the business."

Sparks flying

Details in the Oct. 6 Wall Street Journal report suggest the delay may stem from Tesla's inability to get the Model 3 production line up and running. The report said the Model 3 assembly line was still being built as late as September, while employees put together cars in a separate area of the factory...

After the Journal report, Musk tweeted a of the Model 3 production line, which was operating at one-tenth of its potential speed. In the video, sparks fly as two robotic arms assemble parts of the vehicle frame...

"Resistance welding should make a little smoke, but when you see stuff popping out like that, that's called expulsion," automotive manufacturing consultant Michael Tracy of Agile Group in Howell, Mich., said of the first video. "It's symptomatic of weld spots getting too hot because they're poorly planned, or in this case, the metal not being pulled all the way together."

Poor welds can increase the damage to a vehicle in an accident, and can lead to rattling and squeaking as the car ages, Tracy said...
http://www.autonews.com/article/20171016/OEM01/171019743/why-is-tesla-struggling-with-the-model-3

Whatever the reasons, following three months of disappointing "production" numbers, it looks like TSLA has delivered very few 3s so far this month, and no customers have even been allowed to place orders yet:

https://model3ownersclub.com/threads/highest-production-vin-seen.4714/page-21
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
LOL Who needs edatoakrun and lorenfb, here's your one-stop shop for Tesla negativity:
http://teslabears.club
All the bears should check out this thread on Tesla shorts:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/what-type-of-tesla-shorts-are-you-interested-in.99936/
 
Tesla unveils new dual connector charge port design for Model S and Model X

Tesla unveiled today an updated Model S and Model X design featuring a new dual connector charge port system to support more than one charging standard on its electric vehicles.

Currently, the charge port on all Tesla vehicles is located within the tail light on the driver’s side, but the actual connectors are different depending on the market.

In the US and Canada, it features Tesla’s own proprietary connector and in Europe, the company uses the standard Mennekes plug.

In China, Tesla was using the same charging system as the one it uses in Europe until now.

As the electric vehicle industry is maturing, automakers and charging network operators are trying to work together on open charging standards while adapting to specific requirements in different markets.

Tesla’s new dual connector charge port design appears to be the company’s solution to navigate those markets starting with China...

While we are only seeing this from Tesla in China for now, we expect that the solution could end up being used in other markets too...
https://electrek.co/2017/10/16/tesla-new-dual-charge-port-design-model-s-model-x/

Think TSLA might be planning dual ports for the NA market?

Maybe this is why the charge port door for the model 3 is so large?
 
edatoakrun said:
Think TSLA might be planning dual ports for the NA market?

Maybe this is why the charge port door for the model 3 is so large?

This is what I've been hoping since I first saw that huge door. The Model S/X doors are just large enough for their proprietary plug. This larger door is either to reduce the differences between markets or maybe to allow for dual ports.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
LOL Who needs edatoakrun and lorenfb, here's your one-stop shop for Tesla negativity:

http://teslabears.club

Wow, that KeefWivaneff on there is a piece of work. He believes that Tesla is faking all the Falcon landings on barges. :?
 
keydiver said:
LTLFTcomposite said:
LOL Who needs edatoakrun and lorenfb, here's your one-stop shop for Tesla negativity:

http://teslabears.club

Wow, that KeefWivaneff on there is a piece of work.
LOL! I didn't know about that site.

Yeah, that guy Keef is a nutty guy. He was going around finding pics of wrecked Teslas w/broken suspension, jumping to conclusions and filing bogus safety complaints w/NHTSA w/o having any real info. That's a waste of everyone's time.

Seems like he's got a screw loose or he just has a major ax to grind.

However, legitimate safety defects that meet the bar on US vehicles, regardless of brand should be reported to NHTSA. And, where possible and applicable, it'd be better to report them after the automaker or its dealers/service department have attempted to correct it.
 
KeefWivaneff is performing an important public service reminding the investment community this company is run by a guy who once dated an exotic animal smuggler.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
KeefWivaneff is performing an important public service reminding the investment community this company is run by a guy who once dated an exotic animal smuggler.

Haranguing edatoakrun for his posts????
 
More details on the recent TSLA layoffs at the Fremont factory are now being reported:

Tesla employees detail how they were fired, claim dismissals were not performance related

Tesla is trying to disguise layoffs by calling the widespread terminations performance related, allege several current and former employees.

On Friday, the San Jose Mercury News first reported that Tesla had dismissed an estimated 400 to 700 employees. That number represents between 1 and 2 percent of its entire workforce.

But one former employee, citing internal information shared by a manager, said the total number fired is higher than 700 at this point.

Most of the people let go from Tesla so far have been from its motors business, said people familiar with the matter...

"Seems like performance has nothing to do with it," one Tesla employee told CNBC under the condition of anonymity. "Those terminated were generally the highest paid in their position," this person said, suggesting that the firings were driven by cost-cutting.

That assessment was echoed by several others, including three employees fired from Tesla during this latest wave.

Tesla rates employees on a scale from 1 to 5. Two laid-off employees had achieved scores at or above 4 in past performance reviews with their managers, they said.

During the performance review period before the mass firings, former employees said Tesla's general manager of services and operations, Karim Bousta, sent out a notice saying reviews had been delayed so employees could focus on ensuring a successful rollout of the Model 3.

Tesla had no comment on these claims, but pointed to its previous statement on the firings, reiterating that they were performance related...
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/17/tesla-firings-former-and-current-employees-allege-layoffs.html

Could this report indicate TSLA is planning an update of the inefficient and unreliable motors installed on the S/X platform?

Anyone know where the improved model 3 motors are sourced, from TSLA or an outside supplier?
 
Not the fawning news coverage TSLA is used to getting...

Mass Firings at Tesla Raise Labor Questions

Why would a corporation setting nearly impossible manufacturing goals suddenly fire hundreds of workers at its one and only automobile plant? Could it be because it wanted to exchange vocally pro-union workers with temps that are cheaper to employ and easier to control?

Those are the questions the labor organizing campaign at Tesla is asking, after the company issued a wave of terminations, allegedly linked to performance issues among its 33,000 employees. Several members of the campaign, known as A Fair Future at Tesla, were among those fired, and they all claim to have had excellent performance records. None have been able to obtain the negative reviews that were supposed to be the rationale for their firing...

....a number of job fair listings spotted throughout the Bay Area suggest that Tesla will be replacing pro-union voices with contract labor.

One such listing, through the temp agency Balanced Staffing, touts “hiring on the spot” for “a manufacture [sic] of electric cars in Fremont!!!” There are no auto facilities in that city other than Tesla. The listing says workers will make $18 to $20 an hour doing “repetitive motion” tasks, and that applicants “must be able to work 12 hour shifts.” The site of the job fair, in Modesto, is at least a two-hour drive from Fremont (the listing promises free shuttle service)...

The entry-level wage is lower than what terminated workers with three and four years of service were making at the plant. Contracted work from a third party also likely means no benefits, certainly not the stock options offered Tesla employees. In addition to lower costs, independent contractors would be far less likely to join organizing campaigns.

It certainly appears that Tesla is attempting to increase Model 3 production with a temp labor force, while weeding out longer-tenured employees, at least some of whom were vocal about unionizing the plant...

The California legislature passed a law in September threatening to deny electric vehicle rebates for consumer purchases from companies that are not “fair and responsible in the treatment of their workers.” It’s unclear if swapping pro-union workers with temps would fall into that category...
https://capitalandmain.com/mass-firings-at-tesla-raise-questions-1018
 
Q3 results release and Q&A session announced:

Tesla Announces Date for Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results and Webcast

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tesla will post its financial results for the third quarter of 2017 after market close on Wednesday, November 1st, 2017. At that time, Tesla will issue a brief advisory containing a link to the Q3 2017 Update Letter, which will be available on the Tesla IR website. Tesla management will hold a live question and answer webcast that day at 2:30pm Pacific Time (5:30pm Eastern Time) to discuss the Company's financial and business results and outlook.

What: Date of Tesla Q3 2017 Financial Results and Q&A Webcast
When: Wednesday, November 1st, 2017
Time: 2:30pm Pacific Time / 5:30pm Eastern Time
Shareholder Letter: http://ir.tesla.com
Webcast: http://ir.tesla.com (live and replay)
Approximately two hours after the Q&A session, an archived version of the webcast will be available on the Company's website.

For additional information, please visit ir.tesla.com.
http://ir.tesla.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=1044548
 
Using a range-limited falcon-wing-door ~$100k SUV as a mobile service vehicle is an idea that could only be inspired by considerable consumption of red-wine-and-ambien...

Tesla is launching new all-electric service vehicles based on Model S and Model X next year

Tesla is about to come out with a new all-electric service vehicle based on the Model S and Model X vehicles, according to Jon McNeill, Tesla’s President of Global Sales and Services...

When talking about Tesla’s current mobile vans, McNeill said:

“We didn’t think that it was very cool to show up to fix an electric vehicle with a combustion engine van. It really bugged us. Some really savvy technicians on our team figured out how to retrofit Model X to fit all the tooling and parts needed to do service.”...
https://electrek.co/2017/10/19/tesla-new-electric-service-vehicles-based-model-s-model-x/
 
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