Tesla employees report a high percentage of defects in production

2017 was not the best year for Tesla. It is still unprofitable and is still reliant upon on government subsidies and investors' trust. The last six months of challenges have been mainly related to the release...

2017 was not the best year for Tesla. It is still unprofitable and is still reliant upon on government subsidies and investors' trust. The last six months of challenges have been mainly related to the release of the new Model 3: it will not be possible to reach the promised production rates by the end of the year due to problems with the automation of production. Many buyers who have already made a deposit are still waiting for their electric vehicles.

Reuters talked with some workers of the company who said that most of the cars - up to 90% of Model S and Model X - require some improvement or correction of defects after production.

In the event that the necessary parts, such as bumpers and windshields, are missing, cars are produced without them and left in a special parking lot to finish later. Employees of the company also noted frequent problems with door mechanisms, interior sealing, quality of trimming, and software. Sometimes up to 2,000 cars can be stored in the parking lot of unfinished cars.

Representatives of Tesla deny the information about such problems, referring to the figures about satisfied customers. The company pays a lot of attention to making the car perfect. Each electric car passes more than 500 tests. This may be the reason for the delay, but at the same time it leads to a 90% satisfaction rate among customers and they will buy Tesla products in the future.

One of Tesla's possibilities to stay afloat is to enter the market of budget electric vehicles. The Model 3 was created for this purpose. The price starts from around $35,000. For a company that originally created premium-class electric vehicles, it is extremely difficult to switch to a mass market oriented to a broad customer.