When Tesla introduced the 2022 Model X Refresh at the end of January, the company’s website was showing an estimated delivery date in April. However, it’s the middle of May and customers have yet to receive their electric SUVs. It gets worse as a new report indicates those who have signed on the dotted line to buy the vehicle are going to have to arm themselves with a lot of patience.
Teslarati reports existing orders have a new delivery date – October – and it also applies to the 2022 Model S Refresh. Bear in mind this is applicable to some customers who ordered the cars on February 20, so it goes without saying orders registered after that date could take even longer to be delivered. A quick look on Tesla’s site reveals that placing an order today means having to wait until January or February 2022 to have it delivered.
@advz01 ordered a Model X on Feb 20th. He now has a new estimated delivery date of October. pic.twitter.com/gqRPerV0Eo
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 14, 2021
With Tesla being tight-lipped regarding the delays, it’s unclear why the company is taking so long to fulfill what must be quite a substantial backlog of orders for the updated Model S and Model X. Some would argue the issue stems from the huge demand for the cheaper Model 3 and Model Y as Tesla might prioritize those models.
However, that might not be the case. Even though the Model S and Model X generate considerably lower sales, these models have significantly higher profit margins. Some people speculate Tesla is not quite done butting the finishing touches on the revised models and needs more time to make the last-minute adjustments before sending cars to customers. Another plausible explanation is an issue related to the supply chain.
These delays couldn’t have come at a worse time as Mercedes just launched the EQS as its flagship electric sedan and will be unveiling the smaller EQE in September. Porsche introduced a more attainable rear-wheel-drive Taycan in Europe and North America while Audi launched the E-Tron GT, complete with a high-performance RS version.
Source: Teslarati