Tesla Reportedly Skipped Brake Test To Hit Model 3 Target

Elon Musk has reportedly ordered employees to skip a standard but critical brake test in the final stages of Model 3 production during the last week in June in which the EV maker reached its 5,000-per-week production goal, Business Insider reported on Tuesday, citing internal documents it has seen and a Tesla employee.

After the report, Tesla’s stock tumbled 7 percent at close on Tuesday on NASDAQ, although it wasn’t doing great even before that despite Tesla saying on Monday that it had actually reached the 5,000-a-week Model 3 production goal that many Wall Street analysts had doubted it would.

Tesla said on Monday that it had reached its 5,000-per-week Model 3 production rate by the end of June. In the last seven days of the second quarter, Tesla produced 5,031 Model 3s and 1,913 Model S and X vehicles. The EV maker also expects to increase its Model 3 production rate to 6,000 Model 3s per week by late August.

According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Business Insider, Tesla shut down the so-called brake-and-roll test on June 26, although it wasn’t immediately clear why and for how long.

Tesla representative Dave Arnold told Business Insider that every Tesla car goes through “rigorous quality checks”, including brake tests.

“To be extremely clear, we drive *every* Model 3 on our test track to verify braking, torque, squeal, and rattle,” Arnold said in a statement. “There are no exceptions.”

The brake-and-roll test in the final production stages is a critical part of every car manufacturing process, according to an industry expert who spoke to Business Insider.

Tesla’s stock closed Tuesday down 7 percent, after having dropped 2.3 percent on Monday, despite announcing that it had reached that much-talked-about Model 3 production target.

Despite the production success, some analysts continue to be skeptical that Tesla could sustain production at that level, and more importantly, become profitable and self-sustained on cash flows—not capital markets—soon.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Trump Is Fracturing OPEC
• The Energy Companies Fighting For EV Charging Dominance
• Iran Threatens To Close Crucial Oil Chokepoint