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Model 3 experiences production delays

Rui Zhu, Contributing Writer

4/24/2018

Tesla, the car company that is known for pushing the limit and thinking outside the box to make high technology electric cars, has just introduced its latest car- the Tesla Model 3. The Model 3 is the vehicle that Tesla is aiming to make affordable to the masses, without compromising the company’s aim to include the cool high-tech features the company is known for.

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When the car first launched to market in July 2017, people were already waiting in long lines outside Tesla dealerships across the country, in efforts to be the first to get their hands on the car. This is the usual scene for a new iPhone or Supreme product launch, but this is probably a first for the car industry. For the majority of people who were late in lining up, they will have to pay a $1,000 deposit just to have a chance to get the car in the next two years, and many people are more than willing to do it.

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Elon Musk has set an ambitious production goal of 6,000 Model 3 cars per week by the end of June to push the cars out of the factories and onto the roads. However, the demand is too high to meet the supply at this point, and so far the actual production has fallen short of its aggressive goal. Before the launch of the Model 3, Musk set a lower goal of 5,000 cars in production per week, yet the factory was reportedly only able to get out a rather conservative 2,000 cars per week.

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Right now this is a crucial point for Tesla, since the company recently just had a voluntary recall of 123,000 model S vehicles. The Model 3’s proper production and shipment is a crucial point for the company to gain back customer and investors’ faith. This pressure doesn’t just come from within the company. Though Tesla has been a trailblazer in the electric car industry, other big auto companies such as Audi, Mercedes, Porsche and BMW have realized the abundant opportunities in the field. The luxury car companies have now created their own electric car models, and intend to launch them in the next two years, which will dramatically increase competition in the industry and potentially challenge Tesla’s dominant position.

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But why is the Model 3 so attractive? First of all, there is not an actual key to the car, instead the key is a card- like a hotel room key that can just be easily slid into wallets. Beside the “hotel room key”, the car is connected to a phone app that automatically unlocks the car when you walk up to it.

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The app can also be used to control the headlights, climate, and many other features the car offers. Inside the car, Tesla has also taken a different approach with the Model 3, having totally gotten rid of the driver gauge cluster and all the buttons at the center control panel. Instead all the controls are shown and operated with a large screen control panel. The left side of the screen is dedicated for the driver to see essentials like speed and battery life, while the right side controls pretty much everything in the car from climate control to entertainment and GPS maps.

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Tesla has shown that they really have some brilliant minds put into creating the technology, but it is also crucial for them to put the same genius into their production.

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“Tesla has been a pioneer in technology and a trailblazer in the electric vehicle market, but it has limited knowledge in the manufacturing process, and to go it alone could spell trouble for the company. The Model 3 is potentially a make or break scenario for Tesla, and if it can't prove to its investors that it can scale up and make significant profit, it could spell bad news,” says David Bailey, an expert on economic restructuring and industrial policy at Aston Business School in Birmingham.

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