IT’S THE BATTERIES, STUPID: Panasonic Attempts to Pull Tesla Out of Production Hell.

When Tesla Motors began production of its Model 3 sedan, CEO Elon Musk announced the firm was entering into a kind of “production hell.” He probably didn’t realize just how accurate a statement that would turn out to be. Already contending with a backlog of orders for the Model 3, Tesla simply couldn’t meet the volume targets it set for itself over the last year. It’s now bending over backwards to finish the quarter strong and prove to investors it is capable of turning a profit.

The automaker frequently referenced production bottlenecks as the culprit for the Model 3’s delay. Panasonic, the sole battery supplier for the vehicle, appears to be taking ownership of the issue. “The bottleneck for Model 3 production has been our batteries,” Yoshio Ito, Executive Vice President of Panasonic, said on Tuesday. “They just want us to make as many as possible.”

The whole story is worth reading, an exciting tale of seat-of-your-pants manufacturing.

Nevertheless, Tesla shares are down more than 12% in off-hours trading following yesterday’s SEC announcement that it’s suing Musk.