Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned engineers they'll face "production hell" to launch the company's revolutionary new EV, likely requiring them to live and work at the Texas Gigafactory.
During the company's earnings call, the Tesla chief noted that building the company's next-generation EV will require workers to live and sleep on the manufacturing line at the company's Texas factory as they aim for a 2025 launch of the next-generation EV.
"We really need the engineers to be living on the line. This is not sort of an off-the-shelf 'it-just-works' type of thing," Musk told investors. This controversial move is reportedly driven by the project's tight deadlines and complicated manufacturing processes.
"That will be a challenging production ramp," Musk said. "We'll be sleeping on the line, practically. Not practically, we will be". It is worth noting that Tesla workers are no strangers to sleeping on manufacturing lines to meet the company's production deadlines.
A former worker at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, told The Verge that workers would sleep on the floor after working upward of 12-hour-long shifts. "Workers were fainting from dehydration," the report adds.
In 2022, Musk admitted that he lived in the factory in Fremont and the one in Nevada for three years straight. "Those were my primary residences," he said during the 29th Annual Baron Investment Conference in New York.
Tesla's extreme plan to build its future car
The 52-year-old tech mogul has now confirmed that the EV maker's next-generation vehicle, which the folks at Reuters claim is a mass-market, affordable EV codenamed "Redwood," is slated to enter production in the second half of 2025 at the company's Texas Gigafactory.
I saw a piece of news today
— Blue Sky 🌹Anna🇺🇸 (@ReynaLouise455) January 30, 2024
Tesla to start production of Redwood's new mass-market electric car in 2025 pic.twitter.com/NWHg8DyTSL
While acknowledging his usual "ambitious" timelines, Musk admitted uncertainty about the initial production volume of the affordable EV. This aligns with biographer Walter Isaacson's assessment of Musk as being "always wrong" about deadlines.
Tesla workers are likely to face what Musk described as "production hell" during Tesla's 2017 Model 3 ramp-up. "There's a lot of new technology, a tremendous amount of new revolutionary manufacturing technology here," Musk said.
Tesla Model 3, the car we loved in 2018, the car that went through production hell, deserves this epic upgrade!
— Gail Alfar (@GailAlfarATX) February 3, 2024
I see the upgraded Model 3 as a celebration of Tesla's success against all odds. Since 2018, Tesla's value went up 800%. "Experts" said this could never be done but… pic.twitter.com/blZP4CcmaQ
"I am confident that once it gets going, it will be head and shoulders above any other manufacturing technology that exists anywhere in the world. It's next level," he added.
Musk has been hinting at the arrival of a budget-friendly EV, expected to cost below $30,000 (£23,000), for a while now. The move comes as Tesla faces pressure from Chinese EV manufacturers prioritising affordable vehicles.
In fact, Chinese EV manufacturer BYD recently overtook Tesla as the world's largest producer of electric vehicles. Much to Musk's relief, BYD currently does not sell its cars in the US.
Following reports of increasing competition from Chinese automakers, Musk discussed potential responses, including trade barriers, to support local automotive industries in various regions.
