Tesla Model 3 Updates: Car Maker Pushes Back Delivery Dates
It has been confirmed by a recent update from Tesla executives that customers who bought and reserved a Tesla Model 3 will have to wait much longer than previously anticipated.
In a recent update intended for Model 3 reservation holders that was obtained by Business Insider, customers were told that the manufacturing of the car was "making significant progress clearing early production bottlenecks."
However, the notice also said that Tesla needed to adjust the delivery period of the Model 3 to "slightly later than originally expected."
Customers noted that the delivery period had been delayed by a month. Chad Hurin, a reservation holder, told Business Insider that in his case, he was looking to receive his base Model 3 sometime between this month and January 2018. The automobile was originally slated for release within October to December this year.
The delivery windows for the Model 3 vary since customers asked for different configurations with each car reservation. For example, Tommy Gaessler, another Tesla customer, told Business Insider that he had opted to wait for the "dual-motor all-wheel-drive" Model 3, which was originally set to be released within the August to October 2018 period. However, due to the delay, it will be delivered sometime between September and November 2018 instead.
During its recent earnings call, Tesla executives confirmed that they were making progress in terms of the overall production of the Model 3 despite the persisting bottlenecks causing them the delay.
Elon Musk also reiterated that the company expected to produce the Model 3 by the thousands soon. In a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha, Musk said in the earnings call: "We expect to achieve a production rate of 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week by late Q1 2018."
"I think in the grand scheme of things this is a relatively small shift, the Model 3 is a 10-year program, and so we're talking about a few months out of a 10-year program," Musk added.