Tesla Confronted with a Major Issue at Its German Factory
This page is translated from the original post "Tesla confronté à un grand problème dans son usine allemande" in French.
- 23/08/2023 15:51
The only European factory is not meeting the targeted production pace, which greatly complicates Tesla’s ambitions.
This is a dilemma that ultra-liberal Elon Musk probably did not foresee! After encouraging competition among states to obtain the best public subsidies, land concessions, or fast-track procedures to speed up administrative paperwork, the CEO of Tesla chose to establish its first factory in Germany, in the Berlin countryside.
The other conclusive argument was the idea of challenging the German benchmarks on their home turf, a provocation Musk loves. Except that COVID-19 happened: construction delays, lawsuits with environmental groups, parts shortages to produce the cars. Since 2021, when the factory was inaugurated, things seemed to be gradually falling into place. And then, disaster…
Now Tesla reveals its inability to meet the originally envisioned production volumes: between 500,000 and 1 million cars per year, specifically the Model Y and soon the Model 3. As of August 2023, the manufacturer admits to struggling to maintain a pace of 4,350 cars per week, approximately 220,000 units annually. Far from the initial business plan!
The cause, lack of workforce. Internal documents leaked suggest that absenteeism has skyrocketed, along with employee complaints about workload, unfilled positions, and sick leaves. The recent decision to hire fewer temporary workers and to eliminate Saturday shifts has also impacted employee retention.
At a time when Tesla is repeating the same European scenario to establish its next battery GigaFactory – France seems to be the frontrunner – labor and employment rights aspects are likely to regain importance among priorities…
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