Electric car pioneer Tesla Inc. (TSLA) finally met its production goal for 5,000 Model 3's per week in the last week of the June quarter after a series of production setbacks and missed targets. The milestone has been viewed as integral to CEO Elon Musk's Silicon Valley auto concern as it fights against new competition and makes a major stride into the mass market with its new sedan. But on Thursday, news broke of harsh conditions at the firm's factory in Fremont, California, showing Tesla's desperation to ramp up production. (See also: Tesla Will Turn a Profit by Sept.: Gene Munster.)

Workers at Tesla's Fremont Factory were reportedly given free Red Bull to stay awake and instructed to walk through a raw sewage spill so that Model 3 production could continue, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. CNBC had previously reported that the same factory suffered several fires as it scrambled to meet its Model 3 goals. 

The most recent report could raise questions about violations of factory workers' rights. Tesla told Bloomberg that it was not aware of such instructions and that the plumbing issue was quickly resolved. 

Sleeping on the Factory Floor

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees," a company spokesperson told CNBC. "This is not to say that there aren’t real issues that need to be dealt with at Tesla or that we’ve made no mistakes with any of the 40,000 people who work at our company. However, there should be absolutely no question that we care deeply about the well-being of our employees and that we try our absolute hardest to do the right thing and to fail less often."

Tesla's high-profile CEO has said a number of times that he was sleeping on the floor of the Tesla factory to save time as the company raced to meet self-imposed targets. Musk set a new target of manufacturing 6,000 units per week by August. While Musk has assured investors that the firm will not need to raise additional capital to keep up operations, bears on the Street remain concerned about the sustainability of Tesla's Model 3 production rate. To help with cash flow, Tesla dropped the reservation system for the Model 3, asking American and Canadian customers to put down a $2,500 deposit to order the vehicle. (See also: 4 Stocks That Can Win the Electric Car Race.)