Tesla launched the production version Model X in September last year, but the company has only been taking orders from reservation holders and it never opened its online design studio to potential buyers.
This week, Tesla started contacting reservation holders who have yet to turn their reservation into an order to encourage them to configure their vehicle because the company has “ramped up Model X production” and will open orders online and in-store in “a couple of weeks”.
In an email blast to the reservation holders, Tesla writes that the “quality of Model X has never been better”. On Monday, the automaker reported “severe Model X supplier parts shortages”, which slowed down its production ramp up and resulted in a Q1 delivery miss.
Tesla wrote:
“The root causes of the parts shortages were: Tesla’s hubris in adding far too much new technology to the Model X in version 1, insufficient supplier capability validation, and Tesla not having broad enough internal capability to manufacture the parts in-house. The parts in question were only half a dozen out of more than 8,000 unique parts, nonetheless missing even one part means a car cannot be delivered.”
The company confirmed that these issues were resolved and the production rate is now at 750 units per week.
Now based on Tesla contacting reservation holders, it looks like the company expects to work through its reservation backlog and it wants to make sure current reservation holders retain their priority if they do decide to place an order.
Tesla is currently only delivering its all-electric SUV in the US, but it opened orders to reservation holders in Europe and Asia. By the time it launched the vehicle last year, Tesla had an estimated 30,000 reservations for the Model X.
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Finally. Been eager to see the options for the Model X. Granted I won’t be buying one, but still very curious.