Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has temporarily stopped production of the Model 3 assembly line due to missed targets and high demand.
The company will pause the assembly line for five days at the Fremont, California plant. The pause in production will resolve the problems that have led to the numerous delays faced at the plant.
A Tesla spokesperson said: “Our Model 3 production plan includes periods of planned downtime in both Fremont and Gigafactory 1. These periods are used to improve automation and systematically address bottlenecks in order to increase production rates. This is not unusual and is, in fact, common in production ramps like this.”
First reported by Buzzfeed, the stopping of the assembly line took the assembly staff by surprise who were then forced to take unpaid leave or vacation days.
This is the second time production of the Model 3 has been suspended. In February, work at the factory was suspended, which according to the firm is “common in production ramps like this.”
Elon Musk admitted the “manufacturing hell” that the plant was facing, leading to a slowdown of the product.
“We had this crazy, complex network of conveyor belts … And it was not working, so we got rid of that whole thing,” he told CBS.
The electric car firm is aiming to make 2,500 vehicles per week. This target will increase to 5,000 in a few months time. Analysts are not confident after the delays and lower-than-expected volume.
Since going public back in 2010, Tesla has lost a total of $4.6 billion. The group has managed to make a small narrow profit in just two quarters since then.
Musk tweeted on Friday that the group would be profitable and cash flow positive by the third and fourth quarters of 2018.
Model S and Model X production were both unaffected by the plant’s closure.