Tesla has apologized to Model S buyers who are experiencing significant delays without communication.
However, they are short on explanation, and there are some worrying things going on.
Last week, we reported on Tesla buyers asking the automaker for better communications over Model S deliveries, which have been quite messy.
Many buyers who placed orders for the new Model S early in the year are seeing their delivery dates pushed several times and even having VIN been taken away without any communication from Tesla.
This has been extremely frustrating since Tesla keeps delivering the new electric sedan, and some people who placed orders more recently are taking delivery before people who placed orders earlier in the year — prior to Tesla increasing the price of the base Model S by $10,000.
Today, some of those buyers have been contacted by Tesla after we reported on their demands for better communications.
In the new email today, Tesla apologized:
Hi,
We are contacting you regarding the timing of your Model S delivery, as we recently updated your Tesla Account to reflect the most accurate estimate. You may see a delay with regards to your delivery timeline.
We understand this may be disappointing and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please continue to check your Tesla Account for any changes to your timing, which should remain updated to represent our best estimate.
Thank you for your ongoing patience, and we look forward to delivering your Model S as soon as possible.
Best Regards,
The Tesla Team
However, Tesla didn’t offer much in terms of an explanation for the continuous delays.
Today, we have received several reports from Model S buyers with August delivery timelines seeing their deliveries being pushed to October again without explanation.
In some cases, some buyers are even being told their delivery timeline has been updated to February 2022.
In the worst case, a buyer placed an order for the Model S Long Range in January 2021 and now has a February 2022 timeline.
Electrek’s Take
The new communication is better than nothing, but let’s be honest. It’s not much, and it’s not acceptable that it took a letter and then additional reporting on it to happen.
But the lack of communication is not even the most worrying thing anymore.
On the podcast last Friday, we discussed a possible explanation that Tesla was prioritizing new orders of customers who paid $10,000 more after the price increase and delaying older orders of customers who paid the original price:
I felt bad about even suggesting that Tesla could do that to its own best customers, but now buyers are reporting conversations with Tesla that suggest it could actually be the case.
Several pre-price increase Model S buyers who saw their delivery dates pushed are reporting being told that they could take delivery this month if they update their orders and accept the new $10,000 higher pricing.
In two cases, Tesla didn’t give an actual reason other than the price for the delay. In other cases, Tesla advisors said that it was related to some features, like wheels, that they needed to change as the reason to update the order and get the new $10,000 price increase.
Now, the kicker is that many of those who don’t want to update their orders with the new pricing are seeing their new delivery timelines being pushed to next quarter, if not next year.
This would give an actual motive for Tesla to delay the pre-price increase orders and prioritize new orders since it would actually have an impact on their financial results.
To be honest, I find it hard to believe that Tesla would jeopardize their relationships with some of their best customers just to have slightly better financial results this quarter.
But there’s now a lot of evidence pointing to that, and the automaker is not providing any other excuses.
In the meantime, I keep hearing from many long-time Tesla fans and owners who are having to replan their financing, trade-ins, insurance and are being mostly kept in the dark about this massive purchase.
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