Our problem as Tesla investors is figuring out how adept Tesla is at managing legions of suppliers. We almost never discuss that very much, but GF-3 and GF-4 are both more of a test in supplier management and recruitment than most of us perceive.
Same way that they always have;
If they can’t find a supplier to meet their needs, they do it themselves (seats, falcon wing doors, reprogramming of battery assemblage line, and a whole host of other things we probably don’t know about).
Renegotiating contracts with already established vendors as Tesla orders get bigger to reduce costs.
Continuously looking for efficiency gains in all departments including logistics.
Use Tier 2/3 suppliers until they could naturally attract Tier 1 suppliers, who finally realized Tesla was/is here to stay. Now just like talent, suppliers are likely begging Tesla for business.
Continually searching for suppliers who have more talent and skills - recent example was given by Elon that SpaceX outsourced the build of their landing legs.
So no, as an investor I don’t actually worry about the supply chain or Tesla’s handling of it. They’ve already handled a shootout at the Mexican border, a sunk ship, a supplier burning to the ground, several suppliers that didn’t deliver on required goods/services. All of these are part of ‘business’ that any company faces and deals with if they’re mfging a complex product. Tesla has proven over the years, they got this.
Now they just get it a bit bigger. They already have suppliers in Europe and China that they’d simply continue using and then they’d add more local suppliers as it makes logical sense in terms of costs. Not rocket science.
Elon MuskVerified account @elonmusk 12h12 hours ago
