The quality of Tesla cars suffers every time the company dramatically increases production, admitted CEO Elon Musk in an interview on February 2. Musk also said that Tesla was making cars so fast towards the end of 2020 that it was disrupting the paint job.
Tesla received a lot of criticism for the quality of its cars, especially after it started producing them in relatively high volumes with the Model 3 and Model Y. But in the interview with industry analyst Sandy Munro, Musk was unusually outspoken about the problems quality control.
“It took a while to get the production process right. Friends ask me, ‘When should I buy a Tesla?’ And I said, ‘Well, either buy it early or when production reaches a steady state,’ ”said Musk in the interview. “But during the production ramp, it is very difficult to be in the vertical climb mode and get everything right in the small details.”
Munro then asked why his new model 3 sedan had paint problems, when another one built a month after he saw it was “spectacular”. Musk replied that Tesla had improved the quality of the paint “at the end of last year, even during December”.
Although the Model 3 is more than three years old, Tesla has spent much of 2020 trying to achieve an ambitious goal set by Musk to sell 500,000 vehicles. This boost apparently led to more quality problems with the ink.
“One of the things that was happening when we were increasing production was that the paint was not necessarily drying enough,” said Musk. “So, it’s like you’re faster … it’s like you discover these things. Like, if we knew them in advance, we would fix them in advance, ”
Munro is well known for destroying cars of all types, but his criticisms of Tesla vehicles are especially popular. Their examination of a Model 3 in 2018 was particularly difficult, comparing quality to a 1990s Kia. “I can’t imagine how they launched this,” said Munro at the time.
“I thought your criticisms were correct,” said Musk on Tuesday.
It is one of the most enlightening interviews that Musk has given in a long time. He and Munro also delved into several other Tesla topics, such as the company’s custom seats, how it is trying to avoid similar quality problems with the Model Y SUV, autopilot and more.