Elon Musk: Tesla almost went bankrupt during Model 3 ramp

The Driven

Tesla boss Elon Musk has divulged just how close Tesla came to falling into bankruptcy during the ramp up to volume production of its Model 3 electric sedan.

With a $US401 billion market cap, Tesla is currently the world’s most valuable auto maker – worth more than double the next in line, Toyota.

But it is a title that has been hard won. Musk has made no secret of the “production hell” and “logistics insanity” that the company went through as it negotiated a two-year rite of passage from electric vehicle start-up to leading global EV manufacturer.

In a tweet on Wednesday evening (US time), Musk detailed some more of what he says was a period of “extreme stress and pain”.

How close was Tesla from bankruptcy when bringing the Model 3 to mass production?” asked Twitter follower “Zain”.

Closest we got was about a month. The Model 3 ramp was extreme stress & pain for a long time — from mid 2017 to mid 2019. Production & logistics hell,” said Musk.

To read the full version of this story, please go to our EV-focussed sister site, The Driven and click here…

Bridie Schmidt is lead reporter for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She specialises in writing about new technology, and has a keen interest in the role that zero emissions transport has to play in sustainability.

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