• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechElon Musk

Elon Musk: Tesla Was In ‘Production Hell’ This Year

By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Katie Fehrenbacher
Katie Fehrenbacher
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 3, 2016, 8:16 PM ET
Courtesy of Tesla

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk says that his electric car company Tesla was in “production hell” in the first half of this year, as the company struggled to make more of its cars.

Musk made the comments in Tesla’s second quarter earnings call on Wednesday afternoon.

Tesla started shipping its first Model X, an electric SUV with swooping doors, to customers late last year. By the time deliveries started, the car was already months behind schedule.

Over the following months the company faced the additional difficulty of increasing Model X production while also ensuring quality. To complicate things further, Tesla was also trying to simultaneously boost production of its electric sedan, the Model S.

See also: Tesla About To Spend Big On Model 3

Reviews of early Model X cars found a variety of shortcomings like difficulties with opening and closing doors. Tesla settled a lawsuit with an owner of three Tesla cars who had demanded a refund for his Model X under California’s “Lemon Laws” (he now owns only two Tesla cars).

Tesla has said that some of the problems with making the Model X stemmed from it trying to cram too much advanced technology into the early versions of the cars. Musk has described that mistake as “hubris.”

For Fortune’s review of the Model X watch our video:

See also: How a Combined Tesla & SolarCity Could Save $150 Million in a Year

As a result of the design problems and Model Xs production shortfall, Tesla failed to meet its forecast for the number of cars it shipped for two consecutive quarters and had to slightly lower its car shipment guidance for this year. Tesla now plans to ship 79,180 cars this year, down from the 80,000 to 90,000 cars originally forecast.

In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 14,402 cars to customers (9,764 Model S cars and 4,638 Model X cars), which was substantially lower than its prediction of 17,000 cars. Overall the company made 18,345 cars in the quarter, or 18% more than the number of cars Tesla made in the previous quarter.

Tesla said that half of the second quarter’s car production was in the final four weeks of the quarter, indicating that the fixes came relatively late. Production at the end of the quarter was about 2,000 cars weekly, the company said, which Musk described as “pretty stable.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

On Wednesday, Musk said the company had “climbed out of production hell in June” and called the production ramp “a lot of hurt.” He added that he had “burned out a few neurons” and had “a lot of mental scar tissue” from solving the production problems.

Whether Tesla’s Model X production problems are over isn’t entirely clear. Musk said suppliers of Model X parts “had mostly gotten their shit together,” though he said he would visit a supplier this weekend to address an unidentified problem.

About the Author
By Katie Fehrenbacher
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

AIData centers
Microsoft is picking up a Texas data center project OpenAI didn’t want, in a telling sign of how far they’ve drifted apart
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressMarch 27, 2026
7 minutes ago
InnovationDrones
The Army and Amazon are creating an online storefront to buy drones as the technology transforms the battlefield
By Jason MaMarch 27, 2026
35 minutes ago
kid on laptop with parent blindfolding them
PoliticsSocial Media
Americans want kids shielded from the internet. They don’t trust websites or the government to do anything about it
By Catherina GioinoMarch 27, 2026
1 hour ago
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel delivers remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dinning Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
CybersecurityFBI
Pro-Iranian hackers claim they breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal email as Trump administration offers $10 million reward
By Eric Tucker and The Associated PressMarch 27, 2026
2 hours ago
C-SuiteMark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg has cut 25,000 jobs at Meta since 2022. Here’s what that says about his leadership
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 27, 2026
2 hours ago
CryptoCrypto Playbook
Crypto is entering its ‘collared-shirt’ era says Andreessen Horowitz partner Guy Wuollet
By Jeff John RobertsMarch 27, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

C-Suite
'I didn’t want anybody shooting me': Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago
Environment
Vail Resorts CEO says it’s time to think beyond the $1,000 ski pass that helped build the empire
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
AI
Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
16 hours ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
3 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
4 days ago
Success
The scientist who helped create AI says it’s only 'a matter of time' before every single job is wiped out—even safer trade jobs like plumbing
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.