Great insight BHopkins! That is what I was wondering about, whether this profit and productivity is due to high-tech robots. Yet I don't see that, at least any more than other older car makers are doing. I honestly don't konw why they are profitable now. Those batteries must still cost an arm and a leg, right?
For the future, "
manufacturing could get a whole lot easier" according to some who analyze the cool innovative massive body casting machine Tesla recently patented:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-manufacturing-patents/
So whatever normal amount of automation they have now, they really want to pop these machines out like candy in the future!
Originally Posted by BHopkins
Originally Posted by paoester
That is amazing. Anybody know if production is more robotic than other makers? I've heard they tried to automate like crazy, and that would help profits as production numbers go up. Yet we also know the Model 3 in particular had to back off some of the robot tasks.
It depends. The Model 3 line was originally going to be extremely automated. But that was a total failure. To get the line running, most of the automation was pulled. Now, robotics on the M3 line is very similar to other manufacturers, such as Toyota. Then there is what Tesla likes to call the manual assembly line, also known as "the tent". Totally manual. It was originally assembled to supplement the M3 automated line, so they could get enough capacity because the automated line was choking so bad. I'm not sure that they are still using it to build M3. Last thing I heard, it is used for development. That may include building pre-production Model Y cars.
Then there is the final adjustment area. This is where all kinds of adjustments are made to fix fit and finish issues after the cars come off the assembly lines. This area is entirely manual. Picture a independent auto repair shop in the factory. Tesla has a very, very high percent of "finished" cars that go through this process. Significantly higher than other auto manufacturers. Not even in the same league.