Tesla acquires automated equipment maker Perbix Machine Company

At a time when Tesla is struggling to meet the targets for Model 3 production, the automaker has acquired Perbix, an automated equipment maker and supplier it’s been working with for the past few years. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Minnesota-based Perbix has been a Tesla supplier for nearly three years and an acquisition by the carmaker would allow it to bring more parts production in house. Details of the acquisition were revealed in Tesla’s latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

“With the acquisition of Perbix, Tesla further advances its efforts to turn the factory itself into a product – to build the machine that makes the machine,” Tesla said on its website.

The acquisition comes at a time when Tesla is whole-heartedly focused on improving production rates for its Model 3, which is well under its earlier productions in terms of production capacity at this point. In its recent earnings call, the automaker said that the Model 3 production has been slowed by progress at its Gigafactory, now saying it will reach its goal of producing 5,000 of the vehicles per week by early 2018, rather than the end of 2017.