The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[Titan V]

Tesla: Robots are killing it
http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robots-are-killing-it-2018-3

—Analysts at Bernstein argue that Elon Musk has over-automated Tesla.
—The very robots that Musk says will revolutionize the car industry are baking in Tesla's mistakes and costing far more money than they're worth, they say.

In a rare win for humans over robots in the battle for labor efficiency, Wall Street analysts have laid down a compelling argument that over-automation is to blame for problems at the billionaire Elon Musk's electric-car company.

That is to say, the very innovation and competitive advantage that Musk says he's bringing to the car industry - his nearly fully automated plant in Fremont, California - is the reason Tesla is unable to scale quickly.

According to the Bernstein analysts Max Warburton and Toni Sacconaghi, it's the robots that can't pump out Tesla's highly anticipated Model 3s fast enough. The whole process is too ambitious, risky, and complicated.

"Tesla has tried to hyper-automate final assembly. We believe Tesla has been too ambitious with automation on the Model 3 line. Few have seen it (the plant is off-limits at present), but we know this: Tesla has spent c.2x what a traditional OEM spends per unit on capacity.

"It has ordered huge numbers of Kuka robots. It has not only automated stamping, paint and welding (as most other OEMs do) - it has also tried to automate final assembly (putting parts into the car). It talks of two-level final lines with robots automating parts sequencing. This is where Tesla seems to be facing problems (as well as in welding & battery pack assembly)."