In the past, Tesla has said that it’s been able to boost production by idling its factories for short periods of time to address bottlenecks and upgrade equipment. It’s also unclear how much longer the company will need the line and the tent, or if more outdoor assembly systems will be necessary to reach future targets. How crucial a role the additional line played in achieving Musk’s goal remains an unanswered question. It turns out that third line was being built outside - and under the massive tent. In early June, Musk told shareholders at Tesla’s annual meeting that he was feeling optimistic about Model 3 production thanks to a third general assembly line. Here’s a rundown of what company observers still will have to look for in the release: Under the big top Tesla is expected to release a formal statement on second-quarter vehicle production and delivery figures as soon as Monday. A photograph of employees signing a banner welcoming them to the “Model 3 5K Club” was deleted from Twitter but remains on Reddit. The assembly plant reached the target by early Sunday, according to workers who asked not to be identified, with one saying cheers were heard at the end of the line around 5 a.m. “7000 cars, circa 4 hours (heart) Ford Team (heart)” Armstrong wrote on his verified Twitter account, parodying a similar tweet from Musk about Tesla’s weekly output. Not impressed was Steven Armstrong, Ford Motor Co.’s CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Consistently producing 5,000 per week with outstanding quality is another.” “Reaching it is one thing,” he wrote in an email. The key will be whether Tesla can keep this pace, said Dave Sullivan, manager of product analysis for AutoPacific Inc. Including Model S and X production, the company had a “7,000 vehicle week,” he wrote. Musk wrote that not only did Tesla “factory gate” more than 5,000 Model 3s, it may make 6,000 Model 3s a week next month. Though the production hiccups have led to tumultuous periods for the shares, they’re now up 10% this year, and the company is valued at $58.2 billion. ![]() Optimism about the Model 3 transforming Tesla into a much bigger carmaker that sells to the mass auto market sent the company’s market capitalization past Ford Motor Co. “Now that Tesla has achieved the 5,000 mark, it needs to do so on a steady, routine basis and with excellent quality,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with car-shopping website Autotrader. What Musk still needs to prove is that this level of output can endure. After all, producing 5,000 units of one vehicle in a week is far from unheard of in the auto industry, and the company had to pull out all the stops to get to this point, including constructing a tent and makeshift assembly line next to its factory. He may turn out to be right, if Tesla can hit these manufacturing goals again and again. By building more than 5,000 of the sedans in the last week of the second quarter, Tesla “just became a real car company,” the chief executive said in an internal email Sunday obtained by Bloomberg News. reached a milestone crucial to Elon Musk’s goal to bring electric cars to the masses - and earn some profit in the process - by finally exceeding a long-sought production target with the Model 3.
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