Tesla pushed back the reveal of its semi truck by three weeks as chief executive officer Elon Musk focuses on boosting production of the cheaper sedan that the electric-car maker is counting on to dramatically increase sales.<\/p>\n
Resources are being diverted to address the bottlenecks holding back the Model 3, Musk wrote in a tweet Friday.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also delaying the semi unveiling to Nov. 16 because Tesla is prioritizing efforts to increase battery output for Puerto Rico, which has sought the company\u2019s help to restore power following Hurricane Maria.<\/p>\n
Tesla built only 260 Model 3 sedans during the third quarter, less than a fifth of its 1,500-unit forecast. The company has offered scant detail about the problems it\u2019s having producing the mission-critical car that starts at $35,000, roughly half the cost of the least expensive Model S sedan.<\/p>\n
A delayed ramp up risks the ire of some of the almost half a million reservation holders who started paying $1,000 deposits early last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deep in production hell,\u201d Musk wrote Friday, in response to a tweet asking whether those on the Model 3 waiting list would get more information about their car.<\/p>\n
Tesla slipped 0.5% to $354.95 as of 5:35 p.m. in New York, after the close of regular trading. Optimism about the company\u2019s efforts to mass produce Model 3s has contributed to the stock surging 67% this year.<\/p>\n
Limited Deliveries<\/strong><\/p>\n Initial Model 3 deliveries have been to Tesla employees, enabling the Palo Alto, California-based company to deal with a more forgiving audience in the event of any kinks with the first cars.<\/p>\n Musk on Friday estimated that non-employee reservation holders will be able to design their sedan on Tesla\u2019s website in six to eight weeks.<\/p>\n Musk posted earlier in the day that he would talk with Puerto Rico\u2019s governor about supplying batteries to the territory that\u2019s rebuilding after Maria, which left more than 90 percent of homes and businesses without electricity.<\/p>\n Tesla said last week it was sending hundreds of its Powerwall systems, which can be paired with solar panels, to the island.<\/p>\n Tesla representatives met with California and Nevada agencies this summer about testing an autonomous semi truck, fueling speculation the upcoming reveal will involve driverless technology.<\/p>\n \u201cSemi specs are better than anything I\u2019ve seen reported so far,\u201d Musk tweeted Friday. \u201cSemi eng\/design team work is aces, but other needs are greater right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
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