Tesla's factory in Shanghai, known as the 'invincible ship', is currently recruiting the first batch of ' crews' on a large scale.
On August 5th, Tesla released the hottest position on its official WeChat for the first time, including EPC Engineering Director, Government Affairs Project Manager, Construction Manager, Civil Engineer, Electrical Design Engineer, Mechanical Designer and Legal Counsel, Senior Finance Manager. Recruiters, etc.
A person familiar with the matter told the 21st Century Business Herald: 'The Tesla Shanghai factory is already robbing people, directly issuing three times the salary, and SAIC's technicians have gone a lot.'
However, Tesla's overall situation is not optimistic. On August 2, Tesla announced its second quarter earnings report for the 2018 fiscal year. The financial report showed that the second quarter loss increased from $401 million in the same period last year to $734 million. The year-on-year loss doubled.
Despite the serious losses of Tesla Motors, Tesla CEO Eron Musk, who holds $2.7 billion in cash, said that the company's funding situation is no problem, and they will also achieve profitability by increasing profit margins and cutting costs. Musk Said that the company's cash flow is expected to turn positive in the third quarter.
In addition, Tesla established a factory in Shanghai, and the source of funds was once a mystery. Today, Musk announced that it will seek loans from the local area, and the funds for the construction of the factory will be reduced from 5 billion US dollars to 2 billion US dollars. But the first funds in 2019 Before it was in place, Tesla's most important thing at the moment was the large-scale recruitment of local technicians.
On August 6th, Musk announced on his social networking site that he is currently developing a mini-car that can accommodate one person. But even so, the most difficult problem for Tesla is to upgrade the Model 3. Production capacity.
Model 3 mass production capacity improvement
According to earnings reports, Tesla's second-quarter revenue was $4.02 billion, up 43% from $2.79 billion in the same period last year; net loss was $743 million, a net loss of $401 million compared to the same period last year; attributable to common stockholders The net loss was $718 million, an increase from $336 million in the same period last year.
In terms of production and sales, in the second quarter of 2018, Tesla produced 53,339 vehicles and delivered 40,768 vehicles. The production and sales volume increased significantly compared with the first quarter of this year.
The much-watched Model 3 delivered 18,449 units in the second quarter, and Model S and Model X delivered 22,319 units.
In order to increase the weekly production of Model 3, Tesla came up with many ways, such as building an assembly line in a huge tent outside the main factory to carry out production; implementing a 'multi-shift system'; and drawing from other factories and branches in other regions. Manually, increase the mass production capacity of the Model 3 plant in California.
In June of this year, Tesla achieved a long-term goal that was difficult to achieve, namely the production of 5,000 Model 3 cars per week.
Musk also issued a document saying that the company produced a total of 7,000 cars in the last week of the second quarter, including 5,000 Model 3s, which successfully achieved the weekly production capacity target of 5,000 Model 3s.
'In any case, I think we have an amazing team. I believe we can reach the goal of producing 10,000 cars a week by the end of next year. And, by the end of this year, we will achieve the goal of producing 5,000 cars a week. On August 2, Musk said at the financial analysis meeting.
In addition, Tesla also said that by the end of August, Model 3's weekly production will further reach 6,000 units, and then continue to increase production capacity to reach weekly production of 10,000 units. The entire third quarter, expected Model 3 The cumulative output will reach 55,000.
Earlier, foreign media reported that in order to improve cash flow, Tesla asked suppliers to return 'most of the funds paid in 2016'.
But Tesla responded to the matter by negotiating with suppliers to achieve a 'more sustainable long-term cost basis' and only contacted less than 10 suppliers for this requirement. Tesla said, and others The supplier's discussion focused on the price of future orders.
'With the introduction of Model 3, we can get better payment terms from suppliers and make payment time longer, for example, we can pay after 60 days. Moreover, we can also speed up the production process of the car. ' Skos said at the telephone conference.
Masque envisions an ideal state: 'We produce and sell cars, get the money, and then pay the supplier. As a result, the faster you develop, the more your cash reserves will be. Obviously, This is an ideal realm. '
Related to this, Tesla's power battery supplier Matsushita Battery, operating loss in the second quarter reached 84 yen (about 75.34 million US dollars), mainly due to the increase in production costs of the so-called Gigafactory operated in cooperation with Tesla. Caused by.
'Tesla's production is gaining momentum. ' Panasonic Chief Financial Officer Hirokazu Umeda showed support for Tesla, 'We are adding a new production line and look forward to this line in the second half of the fiscal year (from Starting in October), not only for our revenue, but also for our profit performance. '
Large-scale recruitment of factories in Shanghai
After entering the fifth year of China, on July 10th, Tesla finally decided to build a super factory in China - Gigafactory 3.
Tesla said in the second quarter earnings analysis that the Chinese factory will start construction in the next few quarters, and the first car is expected to go offline within three years. 'For the Chinese market, our plan will basically be utilized. A loan from a local bank in China, using local debt to fund Shanghai's super factory (Gigafactory). 'Mask said.
'Tesla wants to build a car factory in Shanghai. The sole proprietorship form does not bring in the capital investment of the United States. Instead, it must borrow from Chinese financial institutions instead of the stock market. The problem we are concerned with is that it depends on what family it uses. If the NDRC approves the establishment of the factory, if the Tesla product is not competitive in the market two years later, the cash flow will be cut off, and the loan repayment problem is the biggest problem. ' August 2, Automotive industry analyst Zhong Shi told the 21st Century Economic Reporter.
While outsiders questioned the hidden dangers of Tesla's way of arranging funds in China, there was also news that Huaxia Happiness would contribute to Tesla, but the specific amount was not disclosed.
'I don't know.' On August 5th, industry insiders familiar with China's happiness told the 21st Century Business Herald.
Tesla announced that construction will start soon after the factory is approved and licensed, and the first batch of vehicles will be delivered in about two years. In addition, the initial production of the plant will reach 250,000 units per year, and it will take two to three years to reach capacity. 500,000 vehicles.
Mask said that the Chinese factory will also produce batteries, but did not specify the supplier. Currently, Panasonic is the exclusive supplier of Tesla batteries, so it should also be the ideal choice for the Tesla China factory.