For the first time, Tesla Motors has stopped production at its assembly plant in California as the company prepares for the Model X crossover and adds robots to ramp up Model S production.
Work to reconfigure the production floor in Fremont began on Wednesday, with production scheduled to resume in two weeks. Tesla expects production to jump by 25 percent after the $100 million upgrade, which involves adding 25 robots and modifying the factory’s body and general assembly lines.
“This represents the single biggest investment in the plant since we really started operations and enables us for higher volumes. It gets us ready to build X and to do it on the same line as the S,” Tesla spokesman Simon Sproule told Bloomberg.
Tesla wants to deliver at least 35,000 Model S sedans worldwide this year, which would represent an increase of about 56 percent from 2013. Growth is expected to come from new markets such as China, Hond Kong, the UK, Japan and Australia.
At the end of first quarter this year Tesla was producing around 700 units per week, with a goal of increasing that to 1,000 later this year. Current weekly production at the factory is approaching 800 units.
Later this year Tesla will start building the Model X, with deliveries scheduled for early next year. The automaker hasn’t announced a price for the new model yet.
By Dan Mihalascu
Note: Tesla Model X Concept pictured
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