Photo: Tesla
Just like the rest of the auto industry, Tesla grapples with supply chain problems and chip shortages. Despite the recent price increases, Tesla vehicles are still in huge demand, which means new customers face ridiculously long waiting times. This prompted Elon Musk to consider freezing the order books for some models until the production will catch up.
Electric vehicles are more and more popular even in the U.S., as we’ve seen from the Q1 registration reports published this week. The high gasoline prices are a contributing factor, pushing people toward a more economical alternative to gas-powered vehicles. But EV popularity also increased organically, as more people become aware of their advantages. This has led to the demand for electric vehicles far outstripping the supply, and even Tesla has problems building as many EVs as the market demands.
Tesla recorded a significant order surge back in March, as more people wanted to fight high gasoline prices and the long queues at the pumps. The high demand has lengthened the waiting times for Tesla vehicles, despite several price hikes in the past year. The situation has gotten so bad that Tesla even considers it’s time to stop taking orders on some models until the situation eases. This was confirmed by Elon Musk during the Financial Times Future of Cars Conference.
“Demand is now exceeding production to a ridiculous degree,” said Musk, according to electrek.”We are actually probably going to limit or just stop taking orders for anything beyond a certain period of time because some of the timing (for delivery of new orders) is more than a year away.”
All trims of the Model 3 can be delivered by the end of the year in the U.S., but the Model Y is another story. The base trim build page shows a projected delivery time of February-May 2023. The Model X is even harder to get, and customers have to wait until April-August 2023 for the base version. Customers can speed up delivery by ordering more expensive trims or by adding some options to the build. In the case of the Model Y, adding the 20-inch wheels will cut the waiting time by three months.
Closing the order books for some models would help Tesla to better tailor its pricing strategy. With rampant inflation and raw material prices going through the roof, it’s hard to sell now a car that would be produced and delivered more than a year later. It would also be a whole different vehicle by then, with lots of new or upgraded features, as Tesla regularly updates its models.
Tesla recorded a significant order surge back in March, as more people wanted to fight high gasoline prices and the long queues at the pumps. The high demand has lengthened the waiting times for Tesla vehicles, despite several price hikes in the past year. The situation has gotten so bad that Tesla even considers it’s time to stop taking orders on some models until the situation eases. This was confirmed by Elon Musk during the Financial Times Future of Cars Conference.
“Demand is now exceeding production to a ridiculous degree,” said Musk, according to electrek.”We are actually probably going to limit or just stop taking orders for anything beyond a certain period of time because some of the timing (for delivery of new orders) is more than a year away.”
All trims of the Model 3 can be delivered by the end of the year in the U.S., but the Model Y is another story. The base trim build page shows a projected delivery time of February-May 2023. The Model X is even harder to get, and customers have to wait until April-August 2023 for the base version. Customers can speed up delivery by ordering more expensive trims or by adding some options to the build. In the case of the Model Y, adding the 20-inch wheels will cut the waiting time by three months.
Closing the order books for some models would help Tesla to better tailor its pricing strategy. With rampant inflation and raw material prices going through the roof, it’s hard to sell now a car that would be produced and delivered more than a year later. It would also be a whole different vehicle by then, with lots of new or upgraded features, as Tesla regularly updates its models.
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