Internal memo boosts Tesla, despite company troubles

Elon Musk says he’s sleeping on the factory floor. The company has temporarily halted production of its flagship Model 3.

But Tesla’s shares are rising anyway.

Why? The company evidently is planning to add a shift and about 400 jobs to its Fremont, Calif. factory and another factory in Nevada.

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Tesla shares are rising after electric vehicle web site Electrek said it obtained an email from Musk, Tesla’s billionaire chief executive, that says the company is halting production at its two main factories for several days to upgrade equipment — and aims to produce 6,000 Model 3 cars each week by the end of June.

That’s apparently what investors wanted to hear.

Business web site CNBC said it confirmed the email’s authenticity. The automaker’s shares (TSLA: Nasdaq) were higher by 2 percent in pre-market open trading Wednesday.

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“The email, reportedly sent to all employees, sounded a strong call to action to get Tesla’s auto production numbers up to expectations,” CNBC said.

The memo noted that while Model 3 production numbers are still below where the company wants them — shy of 2,500 as of last week — the business also expects that the temporary shut-down will result in crucial improvements, boosting production to 3,000 to 4,000 models a week by May.

The company’s factories will move to around-the-clock production, the email reportedly said.

“As part of the drive toward 6k, all Model 3 production in Fremont will move to 24/7 operations,” Musk wrote in the email.

In the past, Jeff Daochuan Liu, president of Fuyao Glass America in Moraine, has talked of approaching "high-value customers"  such as Tesla to supply them auto safety glass, Fuyao's main product. Fuyao has about 2,000 Dayton-area employees.

Investors have closely watched production of the Model 3.

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