Production issues for Tesla's Model 3 have been well-publicized. However, in response to a new report stating that there would be more delays, the American automaker has revealed that they are on track to meet their current manufacturing goals.
Last week, a CNBC report stated that more delays were to be expected due to issues with battery production at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada. According to the publication's sources, Tesla is still unable to mass produce the Model 3's batteries so employees have been making them by hand.
Moreover, the automaker was said to be borrowing employees from one of its suppliers, Panasonic, to assemble the batteries. With some of the workers being inexperienced, anonymous Tesla engineers told CNBC that they were concerned about the quality of the batteries and that these flaws may lead them to short out or even catch on fire.
Tesla has since released a statement to TechCrunch which stated that that CNBC's claims are "extremely misinformed and misleading." According to the automaker, they have addressed certain bottlenecks and will be able to improve the overall production process.
"To be absolutely clear, we are on track with the previous projections for achieving increased Model 3 production rates that we provided earlier this month," a part the statement reads.
Tesla clarified that until they reach full production, some aspects will have to be manual. Nevertheless, the automaker assured that this will not have an impact on the quality or safety of the batteries they are producing for the Model 3.
The electric car maker also stated that not all roles in the production process require employees with engineering or manufacturing expertise. As they ramp up the production of the Model 3, the company has created thousands of jobs in Nevada. All new hires are said to undergo extensive skills and safety training. Also, all processes, including battery production, are overseen by top engineers in the company.
With over 500,000 pre-orders for Tesla's most affordable electric vehicle yet, industry experts and consumers alike are interested in seeing how the company is able to overcome production issues to meet the high demand. According to the automaker, they will be able to boost production up to 5,000 Model 3 units per week by June.
