Tesla chief’s crazy scheme to meet production targets

Rhian Deutrom news.com.au

Mr Musk’s admitted earlier this month that the company was struggling to meet its ambitious production targets for its Model 3 sedan cars and tweeted an apology after customer complaints over delivery delays.

“Sorry, we’ve gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell, but this problem is far more tractable,” Musk wrote.

Getting the new models out on the market is important to Tesla’s stock price, which is why the tech mogul is so keen to get his production woes sorted.

And Tesla fans seem to have joined forces and answered their leader’s call to help deliver his cars on time.

It all started after one Tesla owner pledged to visit the Fremont Delivery Center, in San Francisco Bay, to lend a hand in any way he can, which attracted a response from Musk himself.

The Tesla enthusiast, Ryan McCaffrey, tweeted at Musk, saying he would be “delighted” to volunteer his time, free of charge, to helping customers get their deliveries.

And how did the billionaire businessman respond?

With a resounding yes.

“Wow, thanks for offering to help!” Musk replied.

“The coming week is incredibly intense. If any current Tesla owners who’d like to help educate new owners could head to Tesla delivery centres during midday on Sat/Sun & morning/evening on weekdays, that would be super appreciated!”

Another fan responded by calling on all Tesla owners to “unite” and volunteer at the delivery centre at once.

But not everyone was as jazzed about the idea, with some suggesting the Tesla “volunteers” would do better volunteering at a local charity.

Another Tesla owner, known as “Mark”, who volunteered at the “chaotic” delivery centre this week wrote about his experience on Reddit.

Mark decided to head down to the delivery centre after reading Musk’s impassioned plea for his own customers to help with deliveries.

“Driving by the Tesla store and seeing just how busy it was convinced me that I should at least stop in to ask if they did,” he wrote.

“The delivery people are slammed at the moment, they are tracking down cars on a overloaded lot,” he wrote.

“They are trying to get them into the detailing department to be prepped,

“If there are any issues with any particular car I can see how it might be overlooked as there are more cars at this store then I’ve ever seen, it’s literally bumper to bumper out there.”

He continued: “The delivery people are constantly running back and forth from the delivery area to the back office to grab stuff from the printer or get answers from Tesla HQ.

“It’s quite chaotic, but they do have a system more or less that seems to be holding up.”

As Mark tells it, customers can be forced to wait around for their new car for close to an hour at the centre.

“Some people were super frustrated with the wait, I get that, but having someone to talk to made it a lot better,” he wrote.

“This was a big one. Figuring out a way to politely say, ‘I know it’s frustrating but have faith Tesla will make it right, I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t’.”

In the end, Musk’s fan base flooded social media supporting the idea.