It has been more than a hundred years since Henry Ford introduced the assembly line that revolutionized the mass production of automobiles. Although the technology has changed somewhat over the years, the basic idea of moving cars along a line remains the same. Tesla thinks it's time for a change.
Instead of the proven assembly line, Tesla moves to "unwrapped" system when creating their cars. Instead of the vehicle moving along the assembly line and various parts being fitted onto it during the process, the new technique involves all the components being assembled together in separate locations and finally fitted onto the vehicle.
According to the automaker, such a change in the technological process can save money. In addition, it could reduce the size of factories by 40 percent, allowing Tesla to build factories faster and at lower costs.
Tesla estimates that the company's future electric vehicle production costs could be cut in half if all goes according to plan. That would be a boon for Tesla and perhaps a lesson for other automakers. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not share details about how the production changes are being made.
It wasn't until the company's latest earnings report that he said something, but he was vague, saying only that a cheaper car was coming and that a new production system was on the horizon. “Far more advanced than any car manufacturing system in the world, by a significant margin”, were the words of Elon Musk.