Model S Manufacturing

vfx · Oct 18, 2011

Tesla Wows With Model S Rides, Factory Tour - AutoObserver

As soon as Oct. 17, the company will stamp the first body shell of the Model S at the factory using robots, then paint it using the company's high-tech robotic painters and assemble it using people on Tesla's assembly line, Gilbert Passin (below), vice president of manufacturing, told AutoObserver during the plant tour. "The first car using the production equipment should be done by mid-November.

That first car will have the internal name of beta 2 to differentiate it from the Model S betas that were on hand for test rides on Monday.

"Our target delivery date for the first car to a customer is mid-2012. That means that we will probably fill up the production pipeline before that, of course, so that we can deliver the car by mid-2012…By year-end 2012, we should be producing between 5,500 and 6,000 cars delivered to customers."

The 100 cars bought on the hood of the car story is there as well.

gg_got_a_tesla · Oct 18, 2011

Yes, this Edmunds article - linked to, in the latest Tesla newsletter - does have some juicy specifics about the manufacturing timeline. A couple more extracts:

Tesla is looking at a release candidate – that's a car that's identical to or extremely close to the production version – by January or February, Passin said.

That's quite early for RCs (which would presumably come to the stores quickly for test drives).

Tesla expects to reach full capacity with the Model S – 83 cars a day during one shift, or approximately 20,000 cars a year

gg_got_a_tesla · Oct 18, 2011

Oh, there might have been a 4th Beta 1 after all as some were speculating, given that a red car with and (probably another) without the rear jump seats were spotted during the same event:

We've built four cars already using some of the equipment. What I'm talking about now is using the production equipment completely.

So, white, black and 2 reds?!

Mycroft · Oct 18, 2011

gg_wants_a_tesla said:
That's quite early for RCs (which would presumably come to the stores quickly for test drives).

Wow, I agree! That's at least a month earlier than I was expecting. If that happens, woo hoo! :smile: Happy camper!

Mycroft · Oct 18, 2011

By year-end 2012, we should be producing between 5,500 and 6,000 cars delivered to customers." That number nearly matches the number of deposits Tesla has taken for the model.

Good news for GP numbers > 4,000; you may not have to wait 'til 2013 after all!

ckessel · Oct 18, 2011

gg_wants_a_tesla said:
That's quite early for RCs (which would presumably come to the stores quickly for test drives).

Presumably that's so they can get the production equivalent car into official crash tests? I'm not sure I'd read that as making it more likely they'd be completely done early (console software, interior, painting robots fully set up, etc).

strider · Oct 18, 2011

ckessel said:
Presumably that's so they can get the production equivalent car into official crash tests? I'm not sure I'd read that as making it more likely they'd be completely done early (console software, interior, painting robots fully set up, etc).

Yep. The cars they send for crash testing have to be built using production processes so they need to get them built in Fremont ASAP to get them into crash testing to give them time to make any modifications as a result.

TEG · Oct 18, 2011

gg_wants_a_tesla said:
Oh, there might have been a 4th Beta 1 after all as some were speculating, given that a red car with and (probably another) without the rear jump seats were spotted during the same event...

Another explanation - maybe they moved the jump seats from the red car to the white car during the event? :wink:

Doug_G · Oct 18, 2011

TEG said:
Another explanation - maybe they moved the jump seats from the red car to the white car during the event? :wink:

I think I read somewhere that the jump seats are removable. If true, then that would explain things nicely.

gg_got_a_tesla · Oct 18, 2011

Doug_G said:
I think I read somewhere that the jump seats are removable. If true, then that would explain things nicely.

I thought there was some bolting involved and it wasn't a quick swap out?! The 4th car (red sig) might just be Elon's personal ride as I was saying before :smile: Anyway, sorry for taking this thread OT...

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Model S Manufacturing

vfx

Well-Known Member

gg_got_a_tesla

Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913

gg_got_a_tesla

Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913

Mycroft

Life happens

Mycroft

Life happens

ckessel

Active Member

strider

Active Member

TEG

Teslafanatic

Doug_G

Lead Moderator

gg_got_a_tesla

Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913

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