E-Paper
On Tesla's new mass-market EV, a word from CEO Elon Musk: ‘Workers will have to…’
The project has been codenamed ‘Redwood’ and will enter production in the second half of 2025.
Tesla employees must be ready for a ‘challenging’ production ramp-up, CEO Elon Musk has warned, as he previewed the EV manufacturer's plans to build a new mass-market vehicle, Business Insider has reported.
Also Read | Tesla plans new mass market EVs, codenamed ‘Redwood’: Report
“Building the next-generation EV will require workers to live and sleep on the manufacturing line at the Texas factory. We really need the engineers to be living on the line. This is not sort of an off-the-shelf ‘it-just-works' type of thing,” Musk told investors during the company's earnings call on Wednesday, according to the publication.
“That will be a challenging production ramp. We will be sleeping on the line, practically. Not practically, we will be,” the world's richest person further said.
Previously too, workers at the Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker, have had to sleep on manufacturing lines to meet production deadlines, the report stated.
Tesla ‘Redwood’ EVs
The plans for the proposed mass-market electric vehicle – it is said to be a compact crossover – were first revealed by Tesla to its investors on the same post-earnings call, with Musk confirming to them that the company expects to begin production at its Texas factory in the second half of 2025.
The models, codenamed project ‘Redwood,’ will include an entry-level $25,000 car, allowing Tesla to compete with cheaper gasoline-powered cars and a growing number of inexpensive EVs, such as those made by China's BYD, which recently surpassed the former as the world's largest EV manufacturer.
