More Model 3 headaches for Tesla as Musk blames automation

TESLA has been forced to suspend production of its Model 3 sedan — a car that is considered vital to the company’s future but has been plagued by production delays.

The apparent problem with Tesla’s Model 3 assembly line? Too many robots, according to the man behind the wheel of the company.

Tesla boss Elon Musk took to Twitter to admit his big mistake as the company struggles to fend off critics.

“Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake,” he tweeted on the weekend. “To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.”

Mr Musk has been a vocal advocate of the idea of universal basic income, claiming automation and robots are set to wipe out all sorts of traditional jobs. However Tesla’s own attempts to heavily rely on automation has apparently caused problems.

“We had this crazy, complex network of conveyor belts,” Mr Musk added in an interview with CBS on the weekend. “And it was not working, so we got rid of that whole thing.”

His concession came as a report published by Reveal in conjunction with The Center for Investigative Reporting claimed that in the company’s eagerness to ramp up production of its Model 3, Tesla quietly concealed the true number of workplace injuries at its Californian assembly plant.

Injuries were reported by workers to supervisors or managers, but the complaints were reportedly dismissed and not passed on to regulators as is required by law.

In a statement on the company’s blog Monday titled “A Not So Revealing Story,” Tesla denounced the story calling Reveal an “extremist organisation” which produced “an article that paints a completely false picture of Tesla.”


On Tuesday morning, it was reported that for the second time this year Tesla has been forced to shut down production of its Model 3 vehicle, the company’s more affordable offering.

The announcement of the four-to-five-day production pause came without warning, according to Tesla employees who spoke with BuzzFeed News.

A Tesla spokesperson said the production halt will be “used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates.”

More than 400,000 people have pre-ordered one of the Model 3 vehicles but their wait continues.