Elon Musk just said he's delaying Tesla's semi-truck reveal to focus on struggling Model 3 production (TSLA)
Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk just announced that the company will delay its electric semi-truck reveal to focus on Model 3 production after missing its target for the much-anticipated car.
Tesla was set to unveil the semi-trailer on Oct. 26 in Hawthorne, California. It will now reveal the battery-powered truck on Nov. 16, Musk said.
Friday's announcement marks the second time Musk has delayed the reveal of Tesla's first big-rig. The company was originally supposed to debut the semitrailer in September.
"Tesla Semi unveil now Nov 16," Musk said on Friday on Twitter. "Diverting resources to fix Model 3 bottlenecks & increase battery production for Puerto Rico & other affected areas."
Tesla's truck will have a 200- to 300-mile range and have self-driving capabilities, Reuters reported.
Cause for delay
Tesla will use the extra three weeks to focus on Model 3 and battery production, Musk said.
Tesla only produced 260 Model 3 sedans in the third quarter, widely missing its original target to manufacture 1,500 sedans in September. It was a big miss for the most highly-anticipated car of the year, which secured 455,000 orders as of August.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/916395155120205825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Tesla Semi unveil now Nov 16. Diverting resources to fix Model 3 bottlenecks & increase battery production for Puerto Rico & other affected areas.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/916401222487126016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I'm doing my best to recalibrate, but that is a fair criticism. However, if I wasn't inherently optimistic, I wouldn't be doing electric cars and rockets in the first place!
The Model 3 is Tesla's first mass-market vehicle starting at $35,000. Musk had said that the first six months of Model 3 production would be "hell."
The company will also use the extra time to focus on battery production for Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello spoke with Musk on Friday about using Tesla's Powerpack batteries and solar panels to restore electricity to the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
Tesla has already built similar battery systems on smaller islands like Ta'u in American Samoa, which can now run entirely on solar power.
This story is developing...
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