Tesla drops colour options to simplify car production

11 September 2018 - 14:30 By Reuters
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Still shiny, but obsidian black and metallic silver are going off the regular menu.
Still shiny, but obsidian black and metallic silver are going off the regular menu.
Image: ©Tesla/NAIAS

Tesla Inc will eliminate some colour options for its electric cars to streamline production, chief executive officer Elon Musk tweeted on Tuesday, as the company intensifies its efforts to ramp up production.

Tesla currently offers seven colours for its vehicles that include top variant Model S, mid-level Model X and its most affordable sedan Model 3. The company is trying to iron out production bumps after struggling to produce Model 3 sedans and failing to meet several production deadlines.

"Moving 2 of 7 Tesla colours off menu on Wednesday to simplify manufacturing. Obsidian Black & Metallic Silver will still be available as special request, but at higher price," Musk wrote in a tweet.

The remaining colour options are solid black, midnight silver metallic, deep blue metallic, pearl-white multi-coat, and red multi-coat.

"We occasionally adjust pricing and available options to best reflect the value of our products and to streamline our manufacturing operations," a Tesla spokesperson said.

"The adjustments made today are the latest example of that. Model 3 Dual-Motor All-Wheel Drive is now a $6,000 option, and beginning September 13 we will be removing two paint options."

Shares of the company, which closed up 8.5 percent at $285.50 on Monday after two brokerages said it could meet its production targets for the second half of the year, fell nearly 2 percent before the bell on Wall Street on Tuesday.

"To ditch paint options won't be the last action to simplify the car production. Tesla has no experience with mass production. They still need a lot of production know-how," said analyst Frank Schwope.

Separately, automotive news website Electrek reported that Tesla is now launching its own in-house "Body Repair centres" to reduce repair time with the first nine locations. Tesla did not immediately respond for a comment to confirm this report.

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