Excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake: Elon Musk
San Francisco, April 14: Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has admitted for the first time that his electric vehicle-making company has been too reliant on robots for production and the human workforce is underrated.
"Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated," Elon Musk tweeted late on Friday while responding to a reporter's tweet.
The journalist from Wall Street Journal had tweeted: "Humans are underrated."
This comes at a time when reports of Tesla Model 3 having missed production targets and manufacturing challenges have surfaced.
Tesla reported a record loss of $675.4 million -- $4.01 per share -- on a revenue of $3.29 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The Palo Alto car company partly blamed the worst-ever figures on the high costs related to the production of its Model 3 electric sedan, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Tesla, which lost $121 million in the same quarter last year, said revenue was up 36 per cent over the same period in 2016 because of the deliveries it made of the luxury electric Model S sedan and Model X crossover.
Tesla has been under fire amid a production slowdown for its Model 3 which is its lower-priced vehicle.
Musk, however, is hopeful that the company will be profitable in the third quarter.
Tesla CEO recently sent Roadster tied to a Falcon Heavy rocket by SpaceX to reach Mars' orbit.
According to reports, the Roadster won't actually be close to Mars until early October of 2020. The car does not have any landing equipment or thrusters to land it on the surface.
"If we can send a Roadster to the asteroid belt, we can probably solve Model 3 production. It's just a matter of time," said Musk.
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Country dedicated to social justice due to Ambedkar's inspiration: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Paying tributes to Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that it is due to his inspiration that the country is today dedicated to realising the dream of social justice.
His principles and ideas will strengthen and speed up the building of an 'aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) and developed India, Modi said on X.
Later, Modi joined a number of other dignitaries, including President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and leaders of opposition in both Houses Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, among others, in Parliament to pay homage to Ambedkar.
Ambedkar is recognised for his lifelong struggle for the empowerment of Scheduled Castes and his key role in drafting the Constitution.
Born in a Dalit family in 1891, he was a brilliant student who went on to study in foreign countries. The discrimination he suffered in Indian society turned him into a committed social reformer.
He was India's first law minister. He died in 1956.
