But documents the company filed days later with the state of California show that more than 400 workers will be terminated at its Fremont factory, including dozens of directors, managers, technicians and other workers in manufacturing, engineering and quality inspection.
The mass layoffs offer a glimpse of the surging pressure the company is facing to keep up with the ambitious goals Musk has set. Factory workers say they’re being pushed to ramp up work even as their co-workers are being pushed out the door.
But they also suggest the space-age car company is facing more chaos at the factory than its drivers and investors may understand. The company has, unconventionally, moved some car production to a giant tent. And Musk, in recent all-employee emails, said the company suffered setbacks from a factory fire and an internal saboteur.
Tesla pledged to make 5,000 of its mass-market Model 3 sedans every week by the end of 2017, but the company has been mired in what Musk called “production hell,” a delay that has hurt investor confidence and constrained the company’s sales.
