First Tesla Model 3s to be delivered this month. Link.

[op2]

It'll be interesting to see how it goes. But with so many other car companies doing or planning to do EVs I think we can conclude that the long transition to faze out the ICE is under way. And good riddance too. EVs are better for the environment. And worse for the Saudis and other sub-human governments in places that happen to have lots of oil. More competition for the car companies who have been complacent for a long time. Better for consumers in that EVs require less maintenance, albeit maybe it'll take awhile to perfect EVs, but common sense says a much simpler engine will be easier to care for in the long run. Worse for auto service centers that make their living on expensive maintenance for ICE cars. Worse for car dealerships who are just middlemen that take their cut and increase the cost to the consumer.

Things are getting better. And better.
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/elon-musk-says-tesla-model-163631589.html

ETA: Oops, don't know why that paragraph is one big link. Whatever.

 

[COOL MAN]

You MAY be correct that EVs will require less maintenance over the long haul, but that particular ship is decades away from winning the maintenance competition.

Speaking of EVs, The Automotive News ran a story recently on how Elon Musk has already run out of space at his Fremont CA factory, and therefore needs a new facility which would likely run him north of $1 billion to put into operation. The issue owes largely to the reality that Fremont......designed as a JV between GM and Toyota......was designed from the get-go as a lean manufacturing facility, whereas Tesla is likely THE most personnel intensive (hence, LEAST lean) line in the entire industry. Key among the various reasons for this issue is that many of Tesla's components.....like, for example, seating......are made in house, while traditional OEM's leave most component fabrication to suppliers.

Probably THE most ironic aspect of Fremont's problems trace to issues as fundamental as plant parking; Musk simply doesn't have enough spaces for the sheer number of employees in house. Evidently, there's some kind of internal "swap meet" for parking between employees of earlier vs later shifts, where spiffs are exchanged as an incentive for earlier shift workers to hold their parking spaces for incoming workers.

 

[op2]

You MAY be correct that EVs will require less maintenance over the long haul, but that particular ship is decades away from winning the maintenance competition.

Speaking of EVs, The Automotive News ran a story recently on how Elon Musk has already run out of space at his Fremont CA factory, and therefore needs a new facility which would likely run him north of $1 billion to put into operation. The issue owes largely to the reality that Fremont......designed as a JV between GM and Toyota......was designed from the get-go as a lean manufacturing facility, whereas Tesla is likely THE most personnel intensive (hence, LEAST lean) line in the entire industry. Key among the various reasons for this issue is that many of Tesla's components.....like, for example, seating......are made in house, while traditional OEM's leave most component fabrication to suppliers.

Probably THE most ironic aspect of Fremont's problems trace to issues as fundamental as plant parking; Musk simply doesn't have enough spaces for the sheer number of employees in house. Evidently, there's some kind of internal "swap meet" for parking between employees of earlier vs later shifts, where spiffs are exchanged as an incentive for earlier shift workers to hold their parking spaces for incoming workers.

Tesla always planned on getting a lot bigger so I don't know where they'll do their thing but obviously they'll need a lot of space for it. I'm sure they've thought about that.

I don't know what Tesla is making in house but re. SpaceX (Musk's other company) I read that when they were in the process of figuring out how to do what they do they kept running into steps where traditional rocket makers outsourced stuff and it cost a lot. And SpaceX said, screw this, we can make it cheaper ourselves, why should we outsource it? So they made the parts themselves and for a lot less. It took an investment to figure out how to do it but once they did it they got access to the cheaper parts forever.

What I like about Tesla and SpaceX is that instead of just doing things they way others have done them they actually critically examined the process and figured out how to do it better. So making your seats in house rather than leaving them to suppliers isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[COOL MAN]

Nothing wrong with process improvement......in fact, it's both critical AND mandatory (particularly in traditional manufacturing environments).

If Tesla, in fact, can get to a point where self-sourcing proves both better and cheaper in a true high-volume environment, then they're onto something. However, that pesky "high-volume" condition is something they've yet to confront.....though it appears on the way with the Model 3.

I figure Tesla will eventually need to find some as yet undefined balance between doing it the boss's way versus the fundamental demands of the industry. Maybe Musk IS smarter (and just as importantly, far better funded) than everyone else who have tried to enter the automotive space. But I'd respectfully submit that the Space X proposition is fairly profoundly different than creating from scratch an integrated automotive manufacturer on a true global scale.

That said, he seems to have a better head start in the space than anyone in my lifetime. And just as importantly, his current and prospective customers seem to be more willing to live with Tesla's growing pains, largely (IMO) because they appreciate Musk's thus far totally atypical approach.