Musk Tweets on Model 3 Delays, Semi Stall, and Puerto Rico

When asked when non-employ Model 3 customers can expect delivery of their cars, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet: “Assume the worst.”

“Now I need to get back to work…” he said as a sign-off from the brief tweetstorm. Musk seemed to show a sense of urgency in pulling his company out of its current “production hell” and offered an update on the company’s current focus given challenges within the company and around the world.

Tesla is pushing the unveiling of its all-electric Tesla Semi from October 26 to November 16 and will give full attention to kinks in Model 3 production and efforts to deliver Tesla Energy products to help restore power in Puerto Rico.

Musk mentioned “bottlenecks” in Model 3 manufacturing, but did not provide specifics on the issue that held Tesla’s third quarter production to just 260 of a planned 1,500 units.

Musk said the configurator will be open to initial non-employee Model 3 reservation holders in “probably 6 to 8 weeks.” Included among the tweets of production hellfire emojis and a suggestion to start employing the worst assumptions regarding delivery timelines, Musk also offered a glimmer of optimism regarding the production timeline. “Bear in mind that the production ramp is an exponential curve,” he said. “Late Oct is possible, but not certain. Literally every day makes a big difference.”

Musk’s activity on Twitter also landed him a talk with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello to discuss the possibility of using Tesla Energy to rebuilt the power grid destroyed by recent hurricanes.

Tesla has already sent hundreds of Powerwalls to Puerto Rico to help establish power. It will be interesting to see how involved Tesla will be in the massive electrical infrastructure overhaul that will need to take place on the island.

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