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> But while all that exotic capital might allow Tesla to remove 5 workers, it will then need to hire a skilled engineer to manage, programme and maintain robots

> But while all that exotic capital might allow Tesla to remove 5 workers, it will then need to hire a skilled engineer to manage, programme and maintain robots for $100 an hour (our estimate of a robotic engineers’ hourly rate). These analysts, what are they analysts in?

baking 9y ago
More context: "Let's say there are 10 hours of labour in final assembly (the part of the production line where parts, interiors and the powertrain are installed in a painted bodyshell). In a regular plant, final assembly typically has less than 5% of tasks automated. If Tesla attempts to automate 50% of these tasks, it could cut out 5 or so hours of labour. This might save $150 per car (assuming wage rates, all in, of $30 per worker, per hour). "But while all that exotic capital might allow Tesla to remove 5 workers, it will then need to hire a skilled engineer to manage, programme and maintain robots for $100 an hour (our estimate of a robotic engineers' hourly rate). "So the net labour saving may be only $50 per unit. Yet putting the automation into the plant seems to involve an apparent capital cost that's $4,000 higher per unit of capacity than for a normal plant. If the product is built for 7 years, that's over US$550 of additional depreciation per unit built. It's hard to see an economic case even if somehow the Fremont Model 3 line can be made to work. So why exactly has Tesla taken this route? It's unclear." http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robots-are-killing-it-2018-3?r=UK&IR=T http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robots-are-killing-it-2...
- tokipin 9y ago
  The point is that that skilled engineer can manage and maintain robots across many factories. That's an aspect of Musk's "the machine that builds the machine" goal. It does have a high up front cost, but the long term advantage is real. Namely the ability to print factories, roughly speaking. Tesla is aiming for production volumes that are much higher than any current automaker.
  - jacobush 9y ago
    I think he is preparing for automatad factories on Mars.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    That skilled engineer is not something you easily clone and when you are trying to debug 250 stations at once you will need many of those engineers, not one that can maintain robots across many factories. That's for when things are working.

baking 9y ago

More context: "Let's say there are 10 hours of labour in final assembly (the part of the production line where parts, interiors and the powertrain are installed in a painted bodyshell). In a regular plant, final assembly typically has less than 5% of tasks automated. If Tesla attempts to automate 50% of these tasks, it could cut out 5 or so hours of labour. This might save $150 per car (assuming wage rates, all in, of $30 per worker, per hour). "But while all that exotic capital might allow Tesla to remove 5 workers, it will then need to hire a skilled engineer to manage, programme and maintain robots for $100 an hour (our estimate of a robotic engineers' hourly rate). "So the net labour saving may be only $50 per unit. Yet putting the automation into the plant seems to involve an apparent capital cost that's $4,000 higher per unit of capacity than for a normal plant. If the product is built for 7 years, that's over US$550 of additional depreciation per unit built. It's hard to see an economic case even if somehow the Fremont Model 3 line can be made to work. So why exactly has Tesla taken this route? It's unclear." http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robots-are-killing-it-2018-3?r=UK&IR=T http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robots-are-killing-it-2...

tokipin 9y ago
The point is that that skilled engineer can manage and maintain robots across many factories. That's an aspect of Musk's "the machine that builds the machine" goal. It does have a high up front cost, but the long term advantage is real. Namely the ability to print factories, roughly speaking. Tesla is aiming for production volumes that are much higher than any current automaker.
- jacobush 9y ago
  I think he is preparing for automatad factories on Mars.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  That skilled engineer is not something you easily clone and when you are trying to debug 250 stations at once you will need many of those engineers, not one that can maintain robots across many factories. That's for when things are working.