Tesla resorts to air shipments to fix Gigafactory bottlenecks

Tesla is hoping to alleviate a major production bottleneck.

It's no secret that Model 3 production hasn't gone exactly as Tesla had planned, but the company is reportedly taking drastic steps to remove one of the key bottlenecks that's holding back production.

According to Reuters, Tesla flew six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to the United States to revamp the battery production line at the company's Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada. An inadequate supply of batteries is reportedly one issue that is slowing production of the Model 3.

As you'd expect, shipping manufacturing equipment via air is quite expensive, but Elon Musk reportedly ordered the expedited shipping to help alleviate the ongoing problem — shipping via boat and rail would have taken weeks, if not longer.

"As usual with Tesla, everything is being done in a massive hurry and money seems to be no obstacle,” an inside source revealed.

Musk has publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the subcontractor that originally assembled the Gigagfactory's battery lines, saying, "we were promised they would work, and it just didn't work.”

It remains unknown how long it will take to get the new equipment up and running, but it will likely take some time to get everything setup and calibrated. But even without the updated battery line, Tesla says it should be able to hit its goal of production 5,000 Model 3s per week by June.