Economics

Musk’s Plant Makeover Even More of a Long Shot as Model 3 Lags

  • Plant ranked 61st in North American auto production last year
  • To meet CEO’s target, Tesla factory would have to become No. 3

Tesla Delivers the New Model 3, Here's a First Look

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Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. may need to come down to Earth on one of the chief executive officer’s most out-of-this-world targets.

Tesla’s plan to make half a million cars next year became all-the-more ambitious after the sluggish start the company got off to with its most important electric vehicle yet, the Model 3 sedan. Musk may be confident about solving the unspecified bottlenecks holding back production. But to meet his 2018 goal, he would have to transform one of North America’s lowest-volume auto factories into the third-highest output plant in the region.