Tesla is asking Gigafactory workers to volunteer and work through Thanksgiving as it pushes to make 7,000 Model 3s per week and keep the company profitable

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

• Tesla's Gigafactory will stay open during Thanksgiving as Elon Musk attempts to ramp up production to 7,000 Model 3s a week, according to an internal email viewed by Business Insider.
• "For Thanksgiving, we will be working in Model 3 Module and Pack Production. We're asking for volunteers to help us support these areas. Managers will follow up with each critical area to develop the volunteer list," the email stated.

Tesla's Gigafactory will stay open over Thanksgiving as the company pushes to reach Elon Musk's production goal of 7,000 Model 3s a week.

According to an internal email viewed by Business Insider, most of the Gigafactory workers will be able to observe Thanksgiving Day, but a few "mission critical areas" will remain open, meaning some employees must work.

"For Thanksgiving, we will be working in Model 3 Module and Pack Production. We're asking for volunteers to help us support these areas. Managers will follow up with each critical area to develop the volunteer list," the email, which was sent on November 12, stated.

"All of our hourly and non-exempt team members who work a Tesla holiday will receive 8.0 hours of holiday pay in addition to pay for hours worked on those days. We greatly appreciate everyone who's able to help and in turn will try to make it festive and rewarding for those that volunteer," the email stated.

Tesla posted a profit during the company's third quarter, something it has only done twice before since it's been public.

However, the company failed to reach its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3s a week (It averaged 4,300 Model 3 cars per week during the third quarter).

Now Musk is upping the ante, in part because the company has said it will sell less expensive (and thus lower margin) versions of the Model 3 going forward, so it needs to increase volume.

Musk has also said customers that order their vehicle before the end of November will get their cars before an electric vehicle tax credit for Teslas expires at the end of the year.

In a separate email sent on November 15, Musk stressed how important it was for the company to continue growing production so that it could maintain profitability.

It's extremely important that we achieve a 1,000+ vehicle per day rate on a sustained basis in the next few weeks, both in order to ensure new Tesla owners receive their car this year and that we achieve a financially healthy quarter.

Last quarter was great, but now we need to prove financial sustainability, which is fundamental to achieving our goal of helping the world become environmental sustainable.

Please be laser-focused on achieving a build rate of 7,000+ high-quality Model 3's per week. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. Note, the build rate will continue to increase in Q1, as we start shipment to Europe and Asia.

Thanks,

Elon

In another email sent to employees, Musk said he'll be walking the entire Model 3 production line "from cells to finished vehicles" on November 27th and 28th to ensure that each and every line is doing 50 units per hour, which would bring Tesla to 1,000 finished vehicles per day.

One Tesla worker who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity called the goal "hopeless" and said that turnover remains high at the company.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If you are a Tesla employee or customer who has a story to share about a car or experience with the company, give me a shout at llopez@businessinsider.com.

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