Elon Musk is sleeping in the Tesla factory again

Still engulfed by 'production hell', Tesla boss Elon Musk has resorted to sleeping in the factory again, as the company scrambles to get production of its new Model 3 up to speed.

The chief executive told his Twitter followers how the company was going through the eighth circle of "production hell" - a phrase regularly used by Musk to describe difficulties surrounding the Model 3, which he is trying to mass-produce on a scale Tesla hasn't attempted before. Camping at the factory saves driving 30 minutes to Reno and the nearest hotel, he reasoned.

Musk previously admitted to sleeping in the factory in May 2016, when he explained on a call to investors that he had a sleeping bag in a conference room next to the Tesla production line. He claimed to sleep there "quite frequently."

That was Tesla's production facility in Fremont, California - now, Musk and his team are bedding down for the night at the Gigafactory, a battery production plant in the suitability named Sparks, Nevada.

Musk posted a photo to Instagram of himself and five others sat in camp chairs around a fire on the roof of the factory. This was followed by a video of Musk singing along to Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, drinking whisky and holding marshmallows over the fire.

A follow-up tweet read: "By the way, just want to express a word of appreciation for the hard work of the Tesla Gigafactory team. Reason I camped on the roof was because it was less time than driving to a hotel room in Reno. Production hell, ~8th circle…"

Musk's sleeping at the Gigafactory rather than Tesla's production line would suggest his concerns over Model 3 lie in its battery and drivetrain, rather than in other areas of construction. Tesla claims Model 3 deliveries to regular customers (rather than to Tesla staff, as has already happened) will begin in late-October, which is basically now. We should get an update on the Model 3's status during Tesla's third-quarter financial results on November 1. The company hopes to produce 5,000 Model 3 cars per week once up to speed, as it attempts to fulfill over 500,000 pre-orders.