They could but it's hard. All their factories are optimized for building ICE cars. In order to optimize for EVs, they have to shut everything down so they're not making money and at the same time spend millions or billions to optimize their lines for EVs. All while they have their dividends to pay out, pensions and any other costs.Nathan Drake wrote: ↑Thu Nov 11, 2021 9:49 amSo conventional autos can’t optimize their production lines for EV?Nysoz wrote: ↑Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:56 am Once all planned/announced factories are built out and optimized they'll potentially have a 5M run rate or so. You can't just count the number of factories and say each have 500-600k run rate and be done. If you look at the land acquired and plan for each of the new factories, they're much larger than the current ones.
There's a reason why VW's Diess is trying to light a fire by comparing VW to Tesla. It takes Tesla 10 hours to build a model 3 where it takes them 3 times as long to make an ID3.
Also, when Tesla bulls talk about manufacturing advantage, they're referring to building the factory and efficient lines (yes some cars still have small panel gaps and squeaks and such). Tesla keeps optimizing factory lines and the manufacturing process to make each new iteration factory even more efficient and can manufacture more in a smaller space. They're eliminating the need for several robots and processes through innovation.
These small things and many more are the reasons why comparing Tesla to a traditional auto manufacturer and old valuations doesn't make sense. They both make things with 4 wheels that move you from point A to B but the entire process and approach is different.
The OEMs are also constrained by supply chain agreements. There's a reason why a lot of newer cars still have infotainment that looks like they're from 5-10 years ago.
Then it's about innovation as well. Tesla is constantly trying to improve/rethink the entire manufacturing process. Creating a new alloy so the front and back of the car can be pressed in 1 part. Integrating the battery into the frame itself to save on weight and parts. Streamlining the wiring in the car to save on costs and weight.
Watch the Sandy Munro teardowns of the Model Y vs the Mach E. It's a lot of small differences that add up to mean a lot.