Elon Musk addresses some of the Model 3's production issues
It took some time to iron out the production process, Musk has admitted.
In a conversation with Canadian-American automotive engineer Sandy Munro, Tesla chief Elon Musk explained some of Model 3’s production issues. Munro sat with Musk for an interview at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas where he asked the executive why some Teslas seem to have problems while some seem to be pristine. The Tesla chief replied that it took some time for the company to iron out the production process and that it was hard to get everything right during the car’s production ramp.
If you’ll recall, Tesla had problems addressing the production bottlenecks on the Model 3 line, and it took a few months to achieve the kind of volume the company was aiming for. One of the issues the Model 3 suffered from, as Inside EVs reported last year, was paint issues — some cars had paint that were thinning in some places and had paint flakes and blemishes. Now, Musk has admitted that some cars didn’t get enough time to dry.
Some Model 3s also suffered from panel gap issues wherein which their gaps had inconsistent sizing. The car door’s gap, for instance, could be a millimeter wide at the top but then widen to 3 millimeters near the bottom. Munro previously said that panel gap issues could be solved by using the mega casting technique, which is already used to cast the Model Y’s rear chassis as a single component. Musk said it was impossible to do that for the Model 3s assembled at Tesla’s Fremont factory, because only the automaker’s newer plants will get the equipment needed to do mega castings. You can watch the Munro’s and Musk’s conversation below:
