Tesla Buys German Automation Firm Grohmann to Drive Up Production
US electric car maker Tesla today said it would buy German engineering firm Grohmann to help ramp up production at its heavily-automated factories. "Several critical elements of Tesla's automated manufacturing systems will be designed and produced" in Pruem in western Germany, the California-based firm said in a statement.
Tesla, founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, aims to produce 500,000 cars per year by 2018 after taking some 370,000 pre-orders for its mass-market Model 3, which will sell for around USD 35,000 (just under 32,000 euros).
This year, the firm hopes to build between 80,000 and 90,000 units of its luxury Model S and Model X vehicles, 50,000 of them in the second half.
"The key to making electric cars affordable are economies of scale and automation in order to h...