Tesla is urging workers to ramp up production of its affordable Model 3 sedans to "prove a bunch of haters wrong," according to a report in Bloomberg.
In a pair of internal emails obtained by Bloomberg, Tesla heads of engineering and production challenged workers to meet or exceed production goals of 300 or more Model 3s per day.
"The world is watching us very closely, to understand one thing: How many Model 3s can Tesla build in a week?" engineering chief Doug Field wrote in the email. "This is a critical moment in Tesla's history."
In another email obtained by Bloomberg, Vice President of Production Peter Hochholdinger wrote that Tesla will suspend Model S and Model X production on Thursday and Friday. Although he attributed the shutdown to the fact that the company is ahead of its targets on those models, he also said during the shutdown employees from the S and X lines will be permitted to work on the Model 3.
(A spokesperson for Tesla has since told Bloomberg the shutdown will only take place on Friday and is unrelated to Model 3 production.) Tesla did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
At the time of Field's email, March 23, he said Tesla was making more than 200 of the Model 3 cars per day. He told staff it would be an "incredible victory" to exceed 300 per day, even as critics question the company's ability to mass marketing affordable, electric vehicles.
Tesla's future as a mass-market carmaker hinges on efficient, automated production of the Model 3, but the automaker has faced significant issues with production speed and quality of parts. Musk said in July 2017 that Tesla would probably be making 20,000 Model 3s per month by December, but the company then downgraded those expectations.