Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
The cost of overtime is generally not as big a deal as the cost of idle production capacity. Overtime represents a good value to business as they get more labor, but don't have to train/insure extra people. As long as Tesla doesn't burn out their production laborers, it's in their interest to keep working them.
An idle tent production line is just as costly as one housed in a permanent structure, as the expensive machinery isn't paying for itself just sitting there.
I came from a silicon wafer manufacturing fab, where inspection tools might cost $3M each, and there would be rows and rows of these machines. Idling these machines for even a few minutes represents huge losses in revenue.
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You can't work people 12 hours a day / 6 days a week for an extended period of time. They do burn out.
The tent production line is to add capacity because the normal line isn't working as it was designed. It isn't working because Musk had his people skip basic steps in the development process and implemented a level of automation beyond what any other automaker has attempted. A lot of that automation isn't working so Musk is throwing humans at problems as a short-term fix.
I come from the automotive manufacturing industry and currently work as a manufacturing engineer.