As we’ve reported before, Tesla Motors is, financially at least, on stable footing for now as it prepares to significantly ramp up production with its first “volume” model, the Model 3 EV. That doesn’t mean, however, that Tesla doesn’t face some choppy seas going forward, a notion that the company shined a harsh light on in its first quarterly financial filing of 2016, wherein it details numerous potential roadblocks to achieving its production goals and even to completing the Model 3 on time.
The biggest revelation in Tesla’s SEC filings is that the Model 3, which debuted as a complete, drivable prototype last month at a flashy event in California, isn’t finished yet. As Tesla puts it: “Final designs for the Model 3 are not yet complete.” The reasons for the design not yet being frozen, despite the Model 3’s production being scheduled to begin in about a year and a half, aren’t explicitly mentioned. Tesla does note that “various aspects of the Model 3 component procurement and manufacturing plans have not yet been determined,” and that it is still working with its suppliers and on the development of its own “efficient, automated, low-cost manufacturing capabilities, processes and supply chains necessary to support [the Model 3's production volumes].” Keep in mind that, for most vehicles, part designs are as influenced by artists’ pens as they are by design engineers and manuf...