No Tesla Model S and X Sales Outside of North America

The Problem 

As with so many other car makers, there is a chip shortage that is affecting the ability to make Tesla cars. The world leading EV car makers have time and again shown that they are only going to make the most expensive versions of their cars for buyers. 

In November, the standard versions of the Model S and X were set to be delivered 16 months after the car was ordered. If you wanted a top end Model S Plaid with all the fixtures and gadgets, this would fall to 12 months. The fewer gadgets and shiny things you wanted, the longer you would wait. 

Backlog - Sales Restricted 

Electrek reported in December this year that letters had been sent to all those who had already ordered the Model S or Model X in Europe, saying that no one will be able to order one here now. 

The letter says: “In order to expedite the delivery of existing orders, including your Model X order, as much as possible, we are currently no longer accepting new orders for the Model S and Model X from markets outside of North America.” 

The letter also says that the first shipments of the cars to Europe will take place in the second half of 2022. Those who have put money down and are awaiting their cars could wait another 12 months from now. 

Tesla - A Victim of Its Own Success 

It seems that Tesla is a victim of its own success. In pushing to be the biggest EV manufacturer in the world it has been utterly successful but is now pushing buyers away. Not long ago there was a sizeable chunk of the financial world trying to short sell the company into bankruptcy but they seem to have lost the game. 

The problem for Tesla now is it needs to make that extra manufacturing capacity to meet the ridiculous demand that Elon Musk hyped into existence. Never mind 12 months waiting for a car, you have to be pretty excited to want to wait 16!