Tesla California plant back in production after 2-day shutdown

Tesla’s California factory is back in the business of making cars. The auto plant was forced to close due to a shortage of parts. The shutdown affected the company’s Model 3, which is the least expensive car sold by the company.

Factory workers were told earlier told they could take last Wednesday and Thursday off but the resumption of production meant they had to go back to work. Musk reportedly told workers that Model 3 and Model Y production would be sped up in the following days.

Tesla however managed to use the shutdown period to its advantage, doing a bit of in-house cleaning. “We are experiencing some parts supply issues, so we took the opportunity to bring Fremont down for a few days to do equipment upgrades and maintenance,” Musk said, as reported by Electrek.

And now that the plant is back online, more work awaits Tesla employees as Musk plans to ramp up production of Model S and Model X, the real money makers, with a return to double shifts.

The part in question is most likely the chip used in the cars as Tesla announced last month that it would not be able to escape the global shortage in semiconductor supply. This however was not a Tesla only problem. Other auto makers like Ford Motor Co, General Motors, and Volkswagen AG had to cut down on production too.

Making matters worse, Samsung Electronics, a supplier of chips to Tesla, also had to shut down its Austin plant in Texas due to the severe winter storm that descended on the state. Even though Samsung would not confirm the customers affected by the Austin plant shutdown, it had earlier reported that chips meant for Tesla were made in the factory. It is easy to connect the production suspension in the two company’s facilities.

What remains to be seen is the extent of the effect of the shutdown on Tesla’s production goals. Last year, the company shipped nearly half a million cars and have ambitions to do better than that this year, even cutting prices as it tries to stave off challenges from competing firms.

Written by D.O. for www.ShargeMe.blog