As it stands now, Model 3 production is still far behind the ambitious schedule Elon Musk and other Tesla executives touted early on. While Tesla was initially hoping to manufacture 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by December of 2017, the company is now aiming to meet that threshold by June of 2018.
That notwithstanding, Tesla has managed to ramp up production quite a bit in recent weeks. Despite a slow start, Tesla during its recent earnings report relayed that weekly production now stands at about 1,000 units per week. Interestingly enough, Tesla in a press release last week said that the company wants to “focus on quality and efficiency rather than simply pushing for the highest possible volume in the shortest period of time.”
That’s a rational objective, to be sure, but there are now reports suggesting that some Model 3 owners aren’t exactly pleased with Tesla’s quality control.
Originally brought to light via Autoblog, a number of Model 3 owners who forked over an extra $5,000 for a premium upgrade on the interior are finding that their cars have been outfitted with less than premium materials.
Threads on both the Tesla Motors Club forum and Tesla Reddit page are filled with complaints from owners who say they’ve taken deliveries of the Model 3 sedan and paid $5,000 for premium upgrade packages but gotten interiors with cloth headliners, door accents, B-pillars and visors when they expected Alcantara.
To this point, one frustrated Model 3 user posted the following tweet earlier this week.
@jonmcneill @Tesla @elonmusk where did the synthetic suede headliner go in #model3 premium upgrades? This mix and match nonsense is an accident, right? pic.twitter.com/hH3vFNCzLA
— Hors d'oeuvres of magnitude (@ehnonnymoose) January 11, 2018
Not surprisingly, some users have called Tesla out for running a bait-and-switch scheme, especially since some of the press shots of the Model 3 look nicer than what’s being delivered.
@elonmusk My delivery is scheduled for this Saturday, and I am very disappointed in Tesla's decision to switch the Model 3's interior material from ultra suede to average cloth w/o telling anyone. Feels very bait and switchy, and unacceptable from a co. like #Tesla. #TeslaModel3
— Alex Williams (@AlexPWilliams) January 11, 2018
For what it’s worth, Tesla provided the following statement to Electrek earlier today.
“As we continue to increase production of Model 3 and produce more high quality cars for customers, all Model 3 vehicles are being made with the same premium textile headliner found in our flagship Model S and Model X vehicles, which has always been planned at this stage of production.”
And as these things typically seem to go, the crux of most user frustration seems to be Tesla’s lack of transparency.
As one Redditor on the Tesla subreddit opined:
It’s not a big deal and if that were the ONLY option, I’d be fine with it, but knowing there was alcantra, and this mysteriously popped up, I’m disappointed. My guess is the rumor of the alcantra supplier going dark is true, and Tesla didn’t want to halt production and went with whatever crap they had laying around. Disappointed. I get it but they should have been telling consumers this.
