Skip to main content

Former employees warn Model 3 battery could catch fire; Tesla denies claims

Starting mass production of the long-awaited Model 3 has proved problematic for Tesla. The company is, by its founder and CEO’s own admission, stuck deep in production hell. Current and former employees warn that the situation won’t improve in the foreseeable future because the problems are much worse than the company admits.

The employees (who asked to remain anonymous) claim Tesla’s Gigafactory still made battery packs for the Model 3 partly by hand in mid-December. They add the company had to “borrow” employees from Panasonic, the firm that supplies battery cells, to speed up production. The process is supposed to be entirely automated, with humans on-site to supervise it, but not intervene on a regular basis.

Recommended Videos

The artisanal production process spawns safety concerns, according to two engineers who spoke to CNBC. They claim some workers, who lack training, routinely install the lithium-ion cells in the pack too close to each other, which could cause the battery to short out or catch fire. If true, that’s a serious allegation that would compromise Tesla’s reputation for building safe cars like the Model X and the Model S. It might not be that simple, though.

Tesla disagrees with everything its former employees told CNBC. The company sent Digital Trends an email to give its side of the story.

“This is an extremely misinformed and misleading article. To be absolutely clear, we are on track with the previous projections for achieving increased Model 3 production rates that we provided earlier this month,” a spokesperson told us via email. “The implication that Tesla would ever deliver a car with a hazardous battery is absolutely inaccurate, contrary to all evidence, and detached from reality. Hypothetically, even if two cells of the same voltage potential were touching, there would be absolutely zero impact, safety or otherwise — it would be as if two neutral pieces of metal touched,” it added.

The bold predictions made by company founder and CEO Elon Musk have, so far, been wide of the mark. In July, when he delivered the first examples, he predicted Tesla would build 100 examples of the Model 3 in August, make 1,500 cars in September, and produce 20,000 cars per month in December. The company only manufactured 260 cars through October, and it admitted that reaching the 5,000-car threshold wouldn’t be possible until March of this year at the earliest.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
The Tesla Model Y is at its lowest price yet — but should you buy one?
Tesla Model Y

Despite increased competition in the space, the Tesla Model Y is still one of the best EVs out there. It has access to the best charging network, plus it offers among the best software experiences, as well as a solid range, especially in the longer-range models. And the Model Y is now down to its lowest price yet, meaning that if you were considering getting one, now is probably the time to buy.

The base price of the Tesla Model Y is down to $42,990 at the time of this writing, which represents a pretty huge price cut. That's before any tax incentives too -- and considering the car is eligible for the full $7,500 tax credit, that means you could get it for as low as $35,490.

Read more
New Model 3 ‘takes out the baby fat,’ Tesla designer says in new video
Tesla's Model 3 refresh, codenamed Highland, features a sleeker front.

Tesla’s upgraded Model 3 sedan has been available in the U.S. since last month, and on Wednesday, designers and engineers at the automaker appeared in a video (below) showing off the refreshed design.

Upgraded Model 3 | Design & Engineering Walkthrough

Read more
Tesla Model Y vs. Nissan Ariya: Can Tesla take out Nissan’s electric crossover?
Front three quarter view of the 2023 Nissan Ariya.

Nissan has been a little slow to the punch when it comes to electrification (besides the Leaf, of course). But now, it’s finally starting to electrify its lineup with the new Nissan Ariya. The Ariya is a crossover similar in size to the likes of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Kia EV6, and, of course, the Tesla Model Y.

If you’re in the market for a new electric car, you might be wondering whether you should go for the now-everywhere Tesla Model Y or stick with the newer Nissan Ariya. Both cars are seemingly more tech-focused, however, while the Ariya builds on Nissan’s decades of experience in the automotive industry, the Model Y takes a still-fresh approach to its car, at least compared to the competition.

Read more