Elon Musk comments on Tesla Model 3 delays and ‘production hell’

As we reported yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave a rare interview with CBS This Morning in which he is supposed to give the first look at Model 3 production line.

Now, CBS is apparently really milking the interview after they posed a preview yesterday ahead of the planned full interview today, but they now have pushed it to tomorrow and shared another preview in which Musk comments about Model 3 delays and ‘production hell’.

Here’s the new excerpt from the interview with Gayle King, which is now planned to be released in full tomorrow morning:

King: “Should customers be worried? Should they be worried about what’s happening with their Model 3 and when they will get their Model 3?”

Musk:” No – it’s best to look at this not in an exact, numerical way, but in a, on a calendar basis….There shouldn’t be a question mark as to whether somebody’s gonna get their car, it’s just, yes, you’ll definitely get your car. It’s gonna be six to nine months longer than expected. It’s a six-to-nine-month time shift, that’s literally it, and three of those months have already passed.”

Asked if there’s been many cancelled orders by customers frustrated by the long wait, Musk said,

Musk: “It’s mostly like people cancel because, you know, they just needed a car and we didn’t have a car for them.”

King: “But do you feel, Elon Musk, personally a lot of pressure and a big burden on your shoulders because so many people believe in this product and believe in this company because of you?”

Musk: “Okay. Well, I hope their faith is not misplaced,”.

Electrek’s Take

Before panic sets in, I don’t think he is announcing any new delay here, but it looks to me like he is referencing pushing the original 5,000 units per week production rate from December 2017 to June 2018.

That’s the 6 months with already 3 months in and now maybe he is opening the door for a potential 3 additional months of delay if things don’t go as planned in the current quarter as Tesla ramps up from ~2,000 units per week to ~5,000 units per week.

That’s how I interpret it, but let me know in the comment section below if you have another view on this.