Electric Vehicles

Elon Musk: Tesla almost went bankrupt during Model 3 ramp

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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.

Bridie Schmidt

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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