Photo: intezer.com
Having witnessed the production problems Tesla still has with the assembly of the Model 3, Elon Musk plans not to go through the same challenges with the upcoming Model Y.
As with any car making business, Tesla too relies on a myriad of contractors to supply parts, services or expertise for the creation of the final product. According to the billionaire, however, there’s currently too many of such partners, many without any visible use.
According to Electrek, citing a leaked email sent from Musk to Tesla employees a few weeks ago, the CEO blames part of the Model 3 delays, as well as the cost of manufacturing, on the interwoven contractors that at times look like a Russian nesting doll.
“This means a lot of middle-managers adding cost but not doing anything useful,” Musk allegedly said in the email.
“Also, many contracts are essentially open time & materials, not fixed price and duration, which creates an incentive to turn molehills into mountains, as they never want to end the money train.”
A more recent email, also cited by Electrek, reads that the time for contractors to prove their excellence and remain on Tesla’s roster of partners is up.
What is a bit strange in all this “prove their excellence” process is the way in which Musk decided to sort the wheat from the chaff. As the email quoted below says, not only the contractors but all the people that are not employees and getting access to Tesla facilities that are subject to scrutiny.
By Monday morning, Tesla employees are being asked to “send a note to HR justifying the excellence, necessity and trustworthiness by individual (not just the contractor company as a whole) of every non-Tesla person who has badge access to our buildings or network access to our systems.”
Musk added that all those not vouched for “will be denied access to our facilities and networks” worldwide.
According to Electrek, citing a leaked email sent from Musk to Tesla employees a few weeks ago, the CEO blames part of the Model 3 delays, as well as the cost of manufacturing, on the interwoven contractors that at times look like a Russian nesting doll.
“This means a lot of middle-managers adding cost but not doing anything useful,” Musk allegedly said in the email.
“Also, many contracts are essentially open time & materials, not fixed price and duration, which creates an incentive to turn molehills into mountains, as they never want to end the money train.”
A more recent email, also cited by Electrek, reads that the time for contractors to prove their excellence and remain on Tesla’s roster of partners is up.
What is a bit strange in all this “prove their excellence” process is the way in which Musk decided to sort the wheat from the chaff. As the email quoted below says, not only the contractors but all the people that are not employees and getting access to Tesla facilities that are subject to scrutiny.
By Monday morning, Tesla employees are being asked to “send a note to HR justifying the excellence, necessity and trustworthiness by individual (not just the contractor company as a whole) of every non-Tesla person who has badge access to our buildings or network access to our systems.”
Musk added that all those not vouched for “will be denied access to our facilities and networks” worldwide.
Google News