Why Are Teslas Always Delayed? (6 Main Reasons)

Tesla cars have been seeing delays in delivery for a long time. It’s been one of the many issues most Tesla customers complain about when ordering their cars.

While some customers have been waiting for months, others have reported waiting for more than a year with no idea why or when their car will arrive.

But by knowing the reason, waiting can be easier for most Tesla customers who are yet to get their cars.

In this article, we explore 6 reasons Tesla delays delivery.

Table of Contents

1. Supply Chain Issues

So far, one of the major issues causing delays in Tesla delivery is disruptions in the supply chain. A global shortage in chip supply has been affecting all auto-makers for a while, causing their production to slow down.

Only Tesla had tripled its production over this period, which is the last two years, though it continues to struggle with delivery dates. But apparently, it can’t be immune forever, as it also started experiencing these issues in the first quarter of 2022.

So far, supply chain issues relating to chip shortage have reduced production greatly and caused further delays in Tesla delivery.

As of June 2022, Tesla had to delay deliveries of some long-range models until the following year. One of them includes the Model X, which will not deliver until around February to May 2023.

Also, due to supply chain issues, some customers have reported parts of their cars missing on delivery. One of these parts is the charging port Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

Other customers have reported their vehicles are ready but will not deliver because of missing parts. And as a result, some have waited months with no idea when the part will be available.

While there are claims there might be an ECU shortage, there is yet evidence to prove this.

Aside from the ECU issue, some customers have also reported delays in the delivery of their orders because of issues with the drive unit. From research, Tesla employees have claimed the delay persists because of a replacement in the drive unit that is not available.

While you may think Tesla is having issues with just the supply of a certain part, it is quite evident the issue involves many parts. Thus, while some customers may get their cars earlier, you may see further delay. It all depends on the supply rates of missing parts.

2. Inaccurate Delivery Estimation

Another factor contributing to the reason Teslas don’t arrive early is the company’s inaccuracy in its delivery estimation.

So far, some Tesla customers can give a better estimation of when their car will arrive than Tesla itself.

Learn more here about Tesla’s ordering process.

By considering the experience of previous buyers and other factors that can affect the production of their car, they know when to expect them despite the date that Tesla provided to them.

However, Tesla does not see it this way. Instead, they give delivery date estimates that are not accurate most of the time.

While this inaccuracy would have been better if it comes earlier than expected, it is the other way. Tesla customers have to wait extra months after the first date estimation Tesla gave.

So far, some have waited for over a year and are still waiting. For example, some customers of the Model X have been waiting for over 2 years to get their cars.

Now, not only is this frustrating for any buyer, no matter their level of patience, it can make you lose interest in buying the car altogether.

By considering risks that may arise during production or even delivery, Tesla’s inaccuracy in delivery dates can improve a great deal.

When there is a proper risk plan, it can lead to earlier deliveries than late deliveries. And this, most customers will appreciate it more.

3. Inability to Keep Up With Increased Demand

Tesla is a popular company that has been seeing increased demand for a while. However, the problem with this demand rate is that Tesla’s supply rate continues to struggle to meet up with them.

Despite its rapid production growth, some models continue to see a delay in delivery over the years, mainly because of higher demands and popularity.

This includes the Model Y long-range. Note that Tesla tries to control demand by increasing the price of these models, but they have only seen more demand instead.

And while there have been claims that the company is seeing a reduction in demand rates recently, data proves otherwise. According to Statista, the automaker in the third quarter of 2022 increased production by 41.5 percent quarter on quarter.

For more information, please read our article to know whether Teslas ever arrive early.

4. Order Location

Customers’ locations when ordering from Tesla contribute to how early they can get their EVs. For locations closer to Fremont, California, they are likely to get their delivery earlier than states farther.

This is because, at the end of each quarter, Tesla makes deliveries that are closer to Fremont than others as it is aiming to reach its delivery target. Now, making a delivery to farther locations in such circumstances may not produce the desired result.

Also, locations that are farther require more resources that may need extra time for Tesla to make available. And in certain situations, there may be a delay in getting these resources due to supply problems.

One such instance is a shortage of transport resources. Recently, Tesla has reported it is having a shortage of these resources, thus struggling to find enough vehicles and ships to deliver customer’s orders to certain areas.

Now, customers living in such areas may experience delays in their delivery period more than others, as Tesla may not have the transport resources to deliver their orders.

Make sure to also read our article about whether Tesla can deliver to your home.

5. The Model Type

Also, some models see delay more than others. This is mainly because some models have more demand rates than others, thus, customers may need to wait longer for the delivery.

Model Y, for instance, is the best-selling car overall in California and Australia and one of the bestselling across the world.

As a result, this model has seen more delay than the others. The delay has only grown worse until recently.

From research, customers who got their Model Y in the second quarter of 2022 waited about 175 days on average, unlike in the second quarter of 2021, which was only 46 days on average.

However, recently, Tesla has offered to deliver the Model Y earlier to its customers, provided they stick with a $2,000 induction wheel. From the report, these customers can get their orders before the end of 2022.

Owing to this improvement is a new factory Tesla recently opened in Austin, called Giga Texas. To help reduce the delay in the delivery period, Tesla has ensured the company solely focuses on the Model Y.

However, for Model Y orders with the standard wheels, your Tesla won’t be around until around March 2023.

Please also read our article about whether Tesla delivery dates are accurate.

6. Shipping Problem

Tesla has been having problems with shipping for a while now. It is one of the major reasons the company has been struggling to deliver the overall number of cars it produces at the end of each quarter.

In 2022, for example, the company had a total production of 258,580 cars in the second quarter, but could only deliver 254,695 of them.

While the third quarter saw an increase in production and delivery, it still could not meet up with the delivery target. It ended up delivering only 343,830 vehicles despite the total production of 365,0000 cars.

This issue has mainly been because the company lacks the adequate transport resources it needs to transport its vehicles.

Supplychaindive reported how the company hit a major issue securing trucks when transporting its vehicles to some parts of the US and when shipping some from Shanghai to Europe.

So far, another major issue affecting Tesla is that it couldn’t secure enough trains, car carriers, or boats to supply its customers’ orders.

Sources

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