Life in Color
- $729.245B Market Capitalization
When it comes to Tesla’s Model Y SUVs, the Company will stick to classic black and white paint. While it would be more entertaining if this was another whimsical idea of Tesla’s infamous Elon Musk, there’s actually a good reason for the Company’s lack of color. According to Automotive News, Tesla’s Giga Berlin plant can only make Model Y SUVs in either black or white due to “issues” with the site’s paint shop.
In case you didn’t know, Tesla’s giga-factory, referred to as Giga Berlin, opened its doors on March 22, 2022. The plant was originally scheduled to open in the Summer of 2021, however, concerns related to Giga Berlin’s environmental impact caused delays. At its launch, Giga Berlin was expected to output 500,000 Electric Vehicles (EVs) and 50 Gwh of battery power per year at full capacity.
However, on July 4, 2022, Tesla announced that it would be temporarily halting its Giga Berlin operation for two weeks in July due to three issues, namely longer-than-anticipated manufacturing times, a lack of skilled workers, and quality assurance issues. Needless to say, Giga Berlin’s paint shop is one of many issues plaguing the facility.
Even so, this hasn’t stopped Musk from reaffirming that Tesla will grow its 2022 production volumes by more than 50%. On the other hand, in the quarter ended June 30, 2022, the Company produced 280,000 vehicles and delivered 254,000 vehicles, representing a 15% decline compared to Q1 2022. In addition to Giga Berlin, Tesla announced disruptions at its plant in China following COVID-19 lockdowns.
With this in mind, if Tesla’s European customers are looking to order a Model Y in a color that isn’t black or white, they are going to be waiting a while. More specifically, customers will have to wait to receive their vehicle from Tesla’s Shanghai plant, with the earliest delivery date expected for March 2023. On the contrary, customers who order a Model Y in black or white can expect their vehicle by October.
Ultimately, after various updates are made to Giga Berlin’s processes, Tesla will reopen the facility with a three-shift schedule. In doing so, car bodies are expected to spend no more than 45 seconds at each manufacturing station, which is a significant reduction compared to the 90 seconds previously. I bet those are record numbers for Musk. I guess we could always ask his employees.
It’s not all bad news for Tesla. While the Company’s Berlin and Shanghai facilities are dealing with various issues, Tesla’s giga-factory in Texas is supposedly doing well. According to insider information obtained from Electrek, Tesla’s Texas facility is capable of outputting several thousand Model Y vehicles per week.
While the numbers are still obscure, it is estimated that the facility produces 5,000 vehicles per week. A more modest estimate from another source suggests the plant is able to produce at least 2,000 Model Y vehicles per week since adding the Model Y Long-Range vehicle to its lineup. In summary, Tesla’s 2022 production started off rough, however, the Company seems confident in its ability to deliver, literally.
Personally, I am hesitant to put my faith in Musk, a man whose Twitter presence is about as consistent as gas prices right now. One moment he tweets a picture of Malenia from Elden Ring and the next he is talking about Tesla’s automatic cabin overheat protection. Let’s not forget about Musk’s flop of a Twitter deal, which Twitter is fully committed to closing whether Musk likes it or not.
Tesla’s share price opened at $710.54 today, up from a previous close of $703.03. The Company’s shares were down 0.23% and were trading at $701.44 as of 1:03 PM EDT.
