By Victoria Waldersee
BERLIN (Reuters) -Tesla will hire fewer temporary workers at its plant outside Berlin than it did in its ramp-up phase and refrain from Saturday shifts, but it is still on track to achieve its production targets, the company said on Thursday.
The comments followed a report by Business Insider earlier on Thursday that Tesla’s goal of producing 6,000 cars a week at the plant, up from the 5,000-milestone reached in March, was on hold.
Tesla this year has aggressively cut vehicle prices in many countries and is resorting to the traditional automakers’ tactic of offering incentives to clear inventory, analysts have said, with demand hit by economic headwinds even as its production rises and competition mounts.
The electric carmaker maker has offered discounts of up to 3,490 euros ($3,842) for a China-made Model 3 and 3,660 euros ($4,029) for a Berlin-made Model Y, according to Tesla Info’s list of global inventory.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told shareholders last month that the company would try advertising for the first time, in a move seen by analysts as a means to drum up demand.
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Musk on Friday, the second time in just over a month, to promote France as a possible site for a second Tesla factory in Europe.
(Reporting by Victoria WalderseeEditing by Miranda Murray and Mark Potter)
