In a new interview, Elon Musk agreed to some scathing criticism of Telsa Inc.’s vehicles. and advised against buying Tesla vehicles during a production boom.
The extraordinarily candid interview – even for an extraordinarily candid CEO like Musk – with engineering consultant Sandy Munro aired Tuesday on the “Munro Live” YouTube channel and podcast.
Musk had a blunt response when asked about quality control issues: “It took us a while to smooth out the manufacturing process somewhat. Friends ask me, “When should I buy a Tesla?” And I’m like, ‘Well, either buy it right at the beginning, or when production hits steady state. During that production ramp, it’s super hard to be in the vertical climb mode and get everything right on the little details. ”
Paint problems also cropped up in December, Musk said, trying to produce as many cars as possible by the end of the year. “One of the things that happened when we started ramping up production was that the paint wasn’t necessarily drying enough,” he said. ‘So it’s like you’re going faster … it’s like you’re just discovering these things. Like, if we knew them in advance, we would solve them ahead of time. “
“Production is hell,” said Musk.
That could be a concern for future buyers as Tesla TSLA,
plans to open new factories in Texas and Germany in the coming months and start production of the Cybertruck pick-up and semi-big rig by the end of the year.
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During a heavy dismantling in 2018, Munro compared Tesla’s Model 3 sedan to a sloppy Kia from the 90s. “I can’t imagine how they released this,” he said at the time. (Munro came by later and loved later versions of the Model 3.)
In the interview, Musk said he agreed with Munro. “I thought your criticism was correct,” Musk said.
Musk also admitted that the seats in early versions of the Model S were awful, “probably had the worst seat of any car I’d ever been in,” Musk said, noting that he called the seat a “stone mushroom.” That led to a much more comfortable seat design in Model 3, which Munro complimented.
Munro isn’t alone in criticizing Tesla’s quality. Consumer Reports placed Tesla in second place from the bottom in a reliability survey last year. “Only the Model 3 sedan is reliable,” Consumer Reports said in November, labeling the Model S, Model X SUV and Model Y compact SUV as substandard.
That didn’t hurt Tesla much, though. The company delivered nearly 500,000 vehicles last year and analysts expect that number to grow to 800,000 this year. Tesla stock has skyrocketed more than 480% in the past 12 months.