Tesla blames Model 3 production delay on 'excessive automation'

Tesla CEO Elon Musk told CBS the reason for the delays in producing the company's Model 3 vehicle was over reliance on robots.

Earlier in the same month, the automobile manufacturer said it had fallen short of its first quarter production goal of building 2,500 units a week, although management was still expecting to be able to ramp-up production to 5,000 cars a week by mid-2018.

According to Digital Trends, it was the lower-than-expected levels of production which had sent Tesla’s stock into a tail-spin in March, with the company's shares falling from $340 to $252 - despite Musk's assertion that matters were on the mend.

To a recent tweet by The Economist saying that "Tesla will need to raise $2.5bn to $3bn this year, according to Jefferies, a bank", Musk riposted, saying: "The Economist used to be boring, but smart with a wicked dry wit. Now it’s just boring (sigh). Tesla will be profitable & cash flow+ in Q3 & Q4, so obv no need to raise money."

Musk admitted he was wrong in relying so much on robots, explaining that when they realised that a "crazy, complex network of conveyor belts" did not work they had eliminated it at once.

He also tweeted that humans were "underrated".

Despite Musk's well-established reputation as a leading proponent of using machines in his assembly lines, he was also one of the foremost voices urging caution on artificial intelligence, having warned on numerous occasions of the need for governments to regulate AI.

On one occasion, he went as far as talking about the risk of an "AI apocalypse" that could threaten humans' existence.

"Excessive automation" wasn't the only problem facing Tesla at the minute either, with a recent report by RevealNews.org alleging that the car-maker had mislabelled and under-counted worker’s injuries in order to make its safety record look better, CNBC reported on Monday.

RevealNews.org said that: "Company officials labelled toxic exposures, muscle strains and repetitive stress injuries as personal medical issues or minor accidents requiring only first aid, lowering its official injury count."