Tesla’s Quality Challenges 1

Tesla’s Quality Challenges

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Tesla’s Quality Challenges 2

Tesla’s Quality Challenges

Introduction 

In 2003 Tesla started in Palo Alto, California, with Martin Eberhard and Marc

Tarpenning. Elon Musk was one of the company’s original financiers and later the company’s

CEO. Its primary focus is on electric cars that have begun with the Roadster and now have three

versions, Model S, Model 3, and Model X, for sale. They are the world’s largest electric

manufacturer for several years now. Tesla has been developing energy storage technology and

hardware and began to make houses solar roof shingles. In addition to the automotive they

manufacture, Tesla is now expanding with all-electric semi-trucks into a commercial trucking

company. This year, they launched their Gigafactory with their ion batteries. Over the years,

Tesla’s cars have been affected by quality problems, but this does not deter customers from

buying them. Cars and are planning for additional models. However, Tesla is much more than a

car company.

Problem Statement

Identification of Problems

Tesla experienced several problems in its electric vehicle manufacture and service,

including problems with the Model S or X Emergency Braking System (AEB), production

problems with Model 3, and problems with batteries that affect the whole line.

Automated Emergency Braking System (AEB) in Models S and X

Information from a car’s computer on a fatal accident occurring when Model S crashing

into autopilot mode killed driver Joshua David Brown in Williston, Florida, in May 2016 were
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requested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHPSA). Tesla, also,

NHTSA demanded Tesla carry out an internal computer survey of its Automatic Emergency

Braking System (AEB) to support the autopilot and avoid frontal impacts. Though Tesla did not

deliver adequate AEB to the S model and X, it was a significant cause of the crash since AEB

was considered a relatively simple technology (Seitz, 2017). Throughout evaluating real-world

data, Tesla switched off its automated AEB systems to ensure that the AEB works as expected.

Tesla has changed to different hardware and required a new AEB code to operate on the new

hardware. The root cause was identified. With some computer and cable redundancies, the latest

hardware has been introduced, but the reliability of AEB has improved slightly.

Production Issues in Model 3

As Tesla planned to build 1,500 vehicles per month by September 2017 and 20,000

vehicles per month by December, Tesla faced problems in increasing their new Model 3. The

initial Model 3 production was just 260 units compared with the 1.500 goal due to production

bottlenecks (Yoon, 2017). Model 3 development started in July 2017, and Tesla anticipates that

it will reach revised production goals sometime in 2018, following significant improvements to

the production line.

The root cause of the problem is that Model 3 uses more significant steel quantities in its

production, unlike Models S and X, which forced Tesla to create new assembly line processes.

Development and production of these new processes have brought Tesla major, mainly

technological difficulties that directly mean that it cannot achieve its production objectives. In

models S and X, the aluminum frame has a high-quality steel reinforcement to reduce the

vehicle's weight. The higher steel mix in the body as described in Figure 1 below is used by

Model 3:
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Figure 1
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Figure 1. Gene (2017). Tesla Model 3’s Body Structure is a Strategic Blend of Aluminum

and Ultra High-Strength Steel. Retrieved from htpps://www. teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-

body-structure-steel-aluminium-composition/

While Tesla CEO argued that the Model 3 was built with fewer parts for ease of

assembly, the production process seems to have been proved differently. In the case of a robotic

welding technique that an expert considered cause to fail to adapt body size panels in the

completed vehicle, for example, the steel skeleton was sloppily joined together. Tesla has been

fighting with welding the steel vehicle together, according to some experts. This creates

differences between panels and incorrect alignment of parts that sometimes cause squeaks and

rattles or more severe quality problems. "The fit-and-finish is wrong if the fixture is incorrect.

In Model 3, 9 separate metal parts are used in the wheel wells, rather than one you would

find in many vehicles. These sub-assemblies require additional equipment and time to build,

increase production costs, and improve the assembly lines by adding more measures.

Battery Problems

Production problems with their 100 kWh lithium-ion batteries would also impact

deliveries of Tesla vehicles. A range of 335 miles is projected in the USA for the latest battery

launched by Tesla. According to Tesla staff, batteries are still manufactured in part by hand for

the Model 3, and the new batteries are not used by quality control personnel. These two elements

seem to be the root cause of Sparks, Nevada, at Tesla Gigafactory (Olsen, 2017). The production

delay was so high that Tesla borrowed some staff from its supplier for hand assembly because

the automated lines could not yet operate completely. Many quality control staff have no
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automotive experience and are temporary employees, which Tesla recruited from a docking

agency. The battery pack of Model 3 contains four modules.

Each module consists of 7 cooling tubes of a series of lithium-ion cells that have to be

precisely aligned, as shown in the following Figure 2:

Figure 2.

Figure 2. Lambert, F (2017). Tesla Model 3: Exclusive First Look at Tesla’s New Battery

Pack Architecture. Retrieved from https://electrek.co/2017/08/24/tesla-model-3-

exclusive-battery-pack-architecture/

The battery involves manual assembly because the outer structures keep together battery

packs bolted down and glued (Bhardwaj et al., 2020). The bandoliers are very difficult to

assemble by hand because it is easy to force the cells a little too high or too low and drop out.

Some of the batteries supplied do not have the minimum distance between the lithium-ion cells,

which can shorten the batteries or even catch fire. There were concerns.

Common Quality Concerns

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A lack of quality control systems to achieve the country's desired goal is found in all

defined problems. Tesla began with a vision of a finished product but could not bring the

resources and processes required for the vision into practice. The root cause of the identified

problems can be explained if we rely on "general technology" rather than split the work into

discrete steps and implement the most efficient and effective solutions for each stage.

Auto emergency frequency tesla in its Model S and X cars manufactured after 2016 to

remedy the lack of implementation AEB (Collins, 2017). The lack of deployment of what some

consumers consider to be a norm in their vehicle design could also decrease consumers' wish to

join the brand when faced with other EV brands. Article by J.D. Power of Lamberts: "Tesla's

Quality Issues Would Be Harder to Overlook Model 3 Owners" (Lambert, 2017). 

The information gained from this study highlights issues that should be taken into consideration

in Tesla's successful quality control strategy.

Ishakawa Diagram
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Solutions

The information gained from this paper advances issues that should be taken into

consideration in Tesla's successful quality control strategy. The assessment made by J.D Power

could influence the mass market attractiveness of Model 3, while quality and reliability problems

did not affect current Tesla owners. J.D. Power's global car consulting director Kathleen Rizk

stated:

"The owners of Tesla see themselves as pioneers who appreciate emerging technology early

adoption. If a car with too many issues were spent $100 000 or more, the impact on sales and

the brand perception will normally be significantly negative. But Tesla seems right now to be

immune to such disenchanted clients." " (Lambert, 2017).

With Tesla vehicles being produced for the mass market, customer expectations will increase, as

is the case for other vehicle manufacturers (Murtha, 2017). As more buyers of their goods

appear, the plaguing of Tesla is expected to increase.

QFD interlinks various parts of the manufacturing process, such as design, manufacture,

and marketing, to ensure that the consumer needs are met (Bogage, 2016). This begins by

collecting details about the client's voice (VOC). Product features can be described from there.

The next step is to establish the technical requirements with these characteristics. The last step

consists of assessing the characteristics of the product design and improvement goals and

deciding which counterpart features to implement. The Kano model that illustrates the VOC has

explicit relation (Kruzman, 2017).

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Figure 3. Customer-Focused Development with QFD. (n.d.). Four Phase QFD Approach

including product planning, assembly/part deployment, process planning, and

process/quality control.

I recommend that Tesla use a tool like QFD to help incorporate customer expectations into a

quality plan to boost its product and demand to achieve its mass production increase (Evans &

Lindsay, 2017). As our manual says, "In many cases, the redesign of products and manufacturing

processes before the consumer needs can be met spends significant effort and time. If consumer

requirements can be established first and foremost, the wasted effort, which is the main objective

of QFD, is eliminated."

Applied Philosophy

To provide support for QFD (Quality Function Deployment) in the Quality plan chosen, I

did not just use lessons, texts, and class discussions, but also an article was written by Ping Ji,
Tesla’s Quality Challenges 10

Jian Jin, Ting Wang, Yizeng Chen, entitled "Quantification and integration in Kano model for

the optimization of product conception" (Ji et al., 2014). In developing a quality plan for Tesla,

we have prioritized VOC (Customer Voice) as essential to understanding customer

requirements/expectations for goods or services purchased fundamental to QFD (2014). Quality

is a prerequisite that consumers demand in today's competitive climate. To convert customer

requirements into new product creation and producing standards, QFD should be considered a

crucial tool in Tesla's quality management strategy. QFD is very effective because it integrates

client requirements in design parameters to help design the end product to suit customer

requirements.

Conclusion and Recommendation

In conclusion, the development of a complete customer policy centered on the consumer's

voice and understanding of service and quality expectation is critical as Tesla increases

production and the number of EVs on the market is growing. In addition to evaluating the

customer, QFD obliges Tesla to consider its internal processes by classifying them as segments.

These segments can then be assessed, and an effect measurable on the customer can be assigned

a particular "weight." This knowledge can then be used to prioritize the details, product features,

and other aspects of Tesla's vehicle development processes and to initiate them. I recommend the

implementation of the QFD Quality Plan at Tesla will greatly benefit the organization through

diligent and thoughtful research by taking the VOC as the basis of the QFD to establish the

specifications for the production and implementation of the VOC for the mass market.
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References

Bhardwaj, S., Pandey, R., Sharma, S., Sejal, S., Iyer, G., Sharma, S., Ranjith, P.V. and Kulkarni,

S., 2020. Problems Faced by Automobile Industries: Case Study on Tesla. International

journal of Tourism and hospitality in Asia Pasific, 3(2), pp.78-88.

Bogage, J. (2016, July 15). Consumer report to tesla: disable autopilot. The Washington Post.

Collins, J. (2017, April 26). Tesla's consumer reports downgrade is a reminder that tesla is an

auto stock. Retrieved April 10, 2017, from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/04/26/teslas-consumer-reports-

downgradeis-a-reminder-that-tesla-is-actually-an-auto-stock/#1d562f577d09

Consumer Reports. (n.d.). Car brands ranked by owner satisfaction. Retrieved from

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/car-brands-ranked-

by-ownersatisfaction/

Evans, J. R., & Lindsay, W. M. (2017). Managing for quality and performance excellence. Tenth

Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning

Ji, P., Jin, J., Wang, T., & Chen, Y. (2014). Quantification and integration of Kano’s model into

QFD for optimizing product design. International Journal of Production Research,

52(21), 6335-6348. doi:10.1080/00207543.2014.939777

Kruzman, D., (2017, July 7). Three more big cars ace safety tests, but not tesla. USA Today

Lambert, F., (2017, March 21). Tesla’s quality issues will be harder to overlook for model 3

owners, says j.d. power. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from

https://electrek.co/2017/03/21/tesla-quality-issuemodel-3-owners-jd-power/
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Murtha, P (2017, March 22) Tesla owners love their model s, model x vehicles, despite problems

J.D. Power from http://www.jdpower.com/cars/articles/jd-power-studies/tesla-owners-

love-theirmodel-s-model-x-vehicles-despite-problems

Olsen, P. (2017, September 10). Tesla turns off AEB in some models. Retrieved from

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/tesla-turns-off-aeb-in-some-models/

Seitz, P. (2017, October 3). Tesla stock falls on Model 3 production miss due to bottlenecks.

Investor’s Business Daily. p. 1.

Yoon, E. (2017). Tesla shows how traditional business metrics are outdated. Harvard Business

Review Digital Articles, 2-5

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