SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla Inc. is all about tents.

The electric-car maker has applied with the city of Fremont, Calif., to build a 4,000-square-foot tent that will protect vehicles that are in transit, according to a permit application. The new structure will be constructed for the south lot of Tesla’s outbound logistics yard.

In June, Tesla built a general assembly line for the Model 3 sedan underneath a massive outdoor tent near its Fremont vehicle factory’s paint shop. The move was widely derided by auto-manufacturing experts but played a key role in boosting production beginning late in the second quarter.

The tent may address a criticism lobbed at the company by some of the short sellers who CEO Elon Musk has publicly expressed a desire to “burn.” Bearish investors have been circulating photos of parking lots packed with Tesla vehicles that are uncovered and exposed to the elements as the carmaker has been going through what Musk has coined on Twitter to be “delivery logistics hell.”

Tesla is slated to report third-quarter production and delivery figures early this week.