Elon Musk says Tesla will begin Model Y production in 2 years and it will be a 'manufacturing revolution'

Cadie Thompson

May 4, 2018, 02:41 IST

Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the "Model Y is going to be a manufacturing revolution" during the company's first-quarter earnings call.
Tesla is betting big on automation despite the fact that Model 3 production was delayed because of problems with new automated manufacturing systems at the Gigafactory.
Musk said the Model 3 would launch in 24 months, so around May 2020.

Tesla's upcoming Model Y crossover will be a gamechanger for manufacturing, CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday during the company's first-quarter earnings call.

"I think Model Y is going to be a manufacturing revolution," Musk said. "It will be, I think, incredible from a manufacturing standpoint, because we do not want to go through this pain again."

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Tesla is betting big on automation despite the fact that Model 3 production was delayed because of problems with new automated manufacturing systems at the Gigafactory.

The company originally aimed to build 5,000 Model 3 vehicles a week by the end of 2017, but later revised its target to making 5,000 Model 3 cars by the end of the second quarter. Tesla said that the company was making 2,270 Model 3 vehicles per week in April.

Musk has said many times that Tesla is focused on building the "machine that builds the machine," which basically means a highly automated manufacturing system. And the company reiterated this sentiment in its earnings letter when it stated that its "automation strategy is key" and that it's as "committed to it as ever."

Tesla is betting that its Model 3 manufacturing woes will ultimately set it up for a successful rollout of the Model Y. Musk didn't go into detail about Model 3 production plans during the call, but we know from his previous comments that the company does plan to build a new factory, where it will make the Model Y.

As far as timing goes, Musk said last May that the Model Y would arrive by late 2019 or in 2020, but on Wednesday, he clarified that further and said it would actually be more like 24 months, so closer to May 2020.

Beyond that, Musk said during the call that "the Model Y is going to be amazing" and "the Tesla pickup is going to be great."

"We have way more cool things than we know what to do," Musk said.