Just killed all my excitement for Model 3... sigh

[ℬête Noire]

I remember 2 months ago people in this forum were crucifying me for saying that battery manufacturing line WASN'T fully automated.

Have a link?

Because it isn't clear from that statement that current production isn't already basically as fully automated as it was designed to be (EDIT: or at least ever will be, and will get phased out as improved design comes online and makes enough slack to retire it).

 

[Garlan Garner]

Yes, of course. With your 6,000+ posts, you obviously have been a frequent visitor to this forum. I find it rather bazaar that you are surprised by the setbacks.

Surprised?

Why do you think I'm surprised? Not at all.

I'm very disappointed in the fact that this is Tesla's 3rd go around and the primary issues / delays revolve around something they have been doing for years. Its not a vendor supply issue nor anything related to anyone outside of Tesla.

No...not surprised. I just thought they would have had it right by now.

@Noire.....What are you disagreeing with?

 

[pkalhan]

Surprised?

Why do you think I'm surprised? Not at all.

I'm very disappointed in the fact that this is Tesla's 3rd go around and the primary issues / delays revolve around something they have been doing for years. Its not a vendor supply issue nor anything related to anyone outside of Tesla.

No...not surprised. I just thought they would have had it right by now.

@Noire.....What are you disagreeing with?

Not only that, but when producing the Model X didn't they say that the delay was due to the complexity of the doors and their over confdence/hubris and that they learned from that mistake? In the most recent conference call they again stated that they were overconfident in the process. Apparently they did not learn from their past mistakes.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Not only that, but when producing the Model X didn't they say that the delay was due to the complexity of the doors and their over confdence/hubris and that they learned from that mistake? In the most recent conference call they again stated that they were overconfident in the process. Apparently they did not learn from their past mistakes.

Exactly.

 

[roblab]

First off, I'd like to apologize to all those who have to wait a few days longer because Tesla decided to bump me up from near the end of the line to near the front. I have your car.

But I'm not really sorry that I have your car. It's fantastic.

And there stands the reason I got bumped. This is my 3rd Tesla. All my Teslas have been early editions, and unlike some, I expect there to be bumps in the road, door handles that don't work. I expect that Tesla will fix them to my satisfaction. I expect there to be problems at Service Centers and Superchargers. And it's no problem. I do NOT write scathing letters to this forum decrying the fact that they made me wait for a part they'd forgotten to order, or that the hood doesn't line up exactly with the fender. I met a half dozen people after church today all wanting to see, touch, ride or drive, and I'm super willing to help them maintain the fever, explaining how easy it is to learn to find the glove box button, or change the wiper speed, complete with demos.

Tesla sends their first cars to early adopters so they can sell more cars and have happier customers. Looking at their track record, they must be doing something right. Complaining on this forum will not change them.

 

[PeterK]

Not only that, but when producing the Model X didn't they say that the delay was due to the complexity of the doors and their over confdence/hubris and that they learned from that mistake? In the most recent conference call they again stated that they were overconfident in the process. Apparently they did not learn from their past mistakes.

I interpreted their comments as that they simplified the car after learning from the Model X, but based on their Gigafactory experience to date they were focused on Fremont and it turns out overconfident about the battery pack part of the process. And it was apparently a vendor whose module/pack assembly automation line and software failed miserably, leading them to brute force manually with extra Panasonic employees in 4Q. They now have semi-automated part of the lines but needed to build a new automated line to fix things and get back to the 5000/month target.

 

[MXWing]

Yes, of course. With your 6,000+ posts, you obviously have been a frequent visitor to this forum. I find it rather bazaar that you are surprised by the setbacks.

THIS.

Wondering if Elon is overly ambitious is like wondering if the Pope is Catholic.

 

[PeterK]

I interpreted their comments as that they simplified the car after learning from the Model X, but based on their Gigafactory experience to date they were focused on Fremont and it turns out overconfident about the battery pack part of the process. And it was apparently a vendor whose module/pack assembly automation line and software failed miserably, leading them to brute force manually with extra Panasonic employees in 4Q. They now have semi-automated part of the lines but needed to build a new automated line to fix things and get back to the 5000/month target.

Found Elon's comment from the conference call:

"And I think in part we were probably a little over-confident, a little complacent in thinking that this is something we know and understand. And put a lot of attention on other things and just got too comfortable with our ability to do battery modules because we've been doing that since the start of the company."

--Elon Musk​