Tesla Inc has flown six planes full of robots and equipment from Europe to California in an unusual, high-stakes effort to speed up battery production for its Model 3 electric sedan, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week. Transporting equipment for a production line by air is costly and hardly ever done in the automotive industry, and the move underscores Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's urgency to get a grip on manufacturing problems that have hobbled the launch of the high-volume Model 3 and pushed Tesla's finances deep into the red. 'As usual with Tesla, everything is being done in a massive hurry and money seems to be no obstacle,' said one of the two sources. Tesla on Friday declined to comment on whether it has shipped in any new production equipment from Europe. Transporting equipment for a production line by air is costly and hardly ever done in the automotive industry, and the move underscores Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's urgency to get a grip on manufacturing problems Investors are closely watching Tesla and its high-profile, often brash CEO to see if the upstart electric vehicle maker can pull off high-volume production of the Model 3, a car with the potential to catapult the niche automaker to a mass producer and assure its financial stability.

Elon Musk has revealed the firm is delaying plans to unveil an electric truck to boost battery production for Puerto Rico and focus on its Model 3 car. 'Tesla Semi unveil now Nov 16,' Musk tweeted today. 'Diverting resources to fix Model 3 bottlenecks & increase battery production for Puerto Rico & other affected areas.' Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks his company can come to the rescue of Puerto Rico after the island's fragile electricity grid was completely wiped out by Hurricane Maria last week The electric carmaker's chief executive pushed back the launch of its semi-truck which had been set to be unveiled October 26 in California. In a series of exchanges on Twitter Thursday and Friday, Musk said the company could help restore electricity to Puerto Rico - whose power system was decimated by Hurricane Maria - by using solar panels and batteries.

Following earlier production tests, Tesla's Gigafactory is now pumping out Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy storage products at full speed, with Model 3 cell production set to follow next quarter. By 2018, it'll produce 35 GWh of lithium-ion cells per year, "nearly as much as the rest of the entire world's battery production combined," the company wrote. The Gigafactory, a joint venture between Tesla and Panasonic, is still less than 30 percent of its eventual 4.9 million square foot size. However, the company needs lots of batteries and needs them fast, considering that it received 400,000 pre-orders for the $35,000 Model 3. So, it's using a phased approach by starting now and expanding later, which "also allows us to learn and continuously improve our construction and operational techniques," Tesla wrote. The company said battery cell costs will decline as much as 30 percent by 2020 as economies of scale and increased automation kicks in. At full tilt, it will produce enough for 1.5 million cars a year, about half of Ford's annual production.