Electric carmaker Tesla is doing a u-turn on its cost cutting measures and staff cuts of recent times, issuing a statement to employees via email on Tuesday (US time) that it is “making preparations” to ramp up production and will need more hires to do so.
With increased output at the EV maker’s Fremont factory now on the cards, Tesla is inviting locals to apply for jobs both at the Californian factory and its Nevada Gigafactory.
Tesla automotive president Jerome Guillen wrote to staff on Tuesday, saying, “While we can’t be too specific in this email, I know you will be delighted with the upcoming developments.”
“As we continue to ramp up production, please tell your friends and neighbors that we have lots of exciting new positions open, both in Fremont and at Giga,” he wrote, referring to the company’s battery factory near Reno, Nevada.
The leak of the email, which was first reported by Bloomberg, resulted in a jump in stock value up 2.2% to $US235.10 on Wednesday morning (New York time).
Guillen’s email also stated that Tesla “hit new records in all production lines for output and efficiency” in the most recent quarter, both in Fremont and in Nevada, and that “quality is also reaching record highs”.
The statement from Guillen comes a little under a week after Tesla reported record-breaking delivery numbers for the second quarter of 2019, which in turn followed a reported loss for the first quarter after the “logistical insanity” of expanding the Model 3 into Europe and China.
A graph from Bloomberg shows the recovery from the first quarter dip:
In January the EV maker announced it would be cutting jobs, a move that was aimed at trimming production costs to deliver the long-promised Standard Range base Model 3 at $US35,000 ($50,270 at today’s rates).
The return to a ramp of production by the company is indicative of its confidence in demand for the Model 3, something which has drawn in past months doubt from some circles.
It’s likely that the recent introduction of the Model 3 into major right-hand drive markets – including the UK (where vehicles are now being delivered) and Australia – is a factor in the ramp up.
First deliveries of the Model 3 to Australia and New Zealand are excepted to commence in August, with Hong Kong and Macau to follow sometime in the third quarter, and Japan in “late 2019” (translated from 2019年下旬).
The rest of Guillen’s email, which has been referred to as “upbeat” implies the EV maker’s determination to continue its recovery and reach for new highs.
According to Bloomberg, Guillen stated that with the company “hit new records in all production lines for output and efficiency” in the most recent quarter, “quality is also reaching record highs.”
He also stated that the next phase of Tesla’s development – producing vehicles in China at its Shanghai Gigafactory – is approaching completion.
“The Stamping, Body, Paint, and General Assembly lines in China are well underway and hitting records in both line design and fabrication,” he said.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.