Tesla has decided that it will temporarily eliminate the Model S and Model X from its catalog outside the US due to the limited success that both models are reaping away from their home market and due to the tremendous accumulation of delays that deliveries of orders already placed are suffering.
In addition, it has begun to inform via email to customers who had a reservation for either of the two models that such deliveries “will not be resumed until the second half of 2022”.
Thus, the company led by Elon Musk will give priority to other more accessible and more successful models such as the Model 3 , which last October was already crowned the best-selling car in Europe (the first time that an electric car has achieved this). ) and everything indicates that it will also be the best-selling electric in Spain in 2021.
A year and a half delay to receive a Model X or a Model S outside the US
Tesla’s drastic decision has caught the brand’s customers outside of North America by surprise who, as Electreck has collected , have had to accept the news through a brief email while both models continue to appear in the configurator.
Specifically, the e-mail received by a customer from Germany who had reserved a Model X has been made public and it begins like this:
“We are in contact with you regarding the date of your order for a Model X. As we expand production capacity, launch dates for markets outside of North America have been postponed. We will inform you of delivery times through your Tesla account when production begins. (…) Currently, we expect shipments outside of North America to begin in the second half of 2022 ”.
Tesla halted production of the Model S and Model X at the beginning of the year to update both vehicles , but in the meantime the manufacturer has continued to receive new orders. In addition, the launch of the new versions was delayed longer than expected, because due to causes such as the omnipresent global microchip crisis, the new Model S did not begin to roll off the assembly line until last June, while the Model X wasn’t ready until October.
Consequently, Tesla is still catching up with the order book in North America, while customers in other markets such as Asia or Europe continue to accumulate delays and see the wait for their Model S and Model Xs increase.
In total, if the deadlines estimated by the manufacturer are met, their cars will take at least a year and a half , unless customers cancel their order or modify it, as indicated in the last part of the aforementioned e-mail that they have started receiving customers:
“The price of your Model X will remain the same as it was when you placed your order, unless your vehicle configuration has been changed. To apply your order rate to another model or to receive a full refund, please request a call to speak directly to a Tesla representative. “
Those who were planning to get a Model S or a Model X in the coming months outside the US can discard the idea, in addition, customers who have already made their reservation should know that the units that are coming into their hands will be models prior to the face lift .
A highly controversial strategic decision for customers, but one that will hardly affect the company’s numbers. And it is that according to the figures published by Tesla corresponding to the third quarter of the year of the 241,300 deliveries made, only 9,275 corresponded to the Model S and the Model X.