Tesla has stopped taking new orders for its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles in Europe. It’s not the first time it happened, but it still raises questions.
Following the 2021 Model S/X refresh, Tesla ceased taking new orders for the vehicles in Europe for an unexpectedly long period.
The refreshed models were unveiled in January 2021, and Tesla continued to take orders through December 2021, after which they stopped.
It didn’t reopen orders in Europe until August 2022.
Now, something similar is happening with the new refresh.
In June, Tesla unveiled another minor refresh of the Model S and Model X.
Now, just over a month later, Tesla has stopped taking new orders for the Model S and Model X in Europe. The automaker deactivated the online configurators and instead, it redirects to the main Model S and Model X pages, where buyers can still find some inventory vehicles.
At this time, the reason for the stoppage in taking orders is unclear, but it may be due to a supply issue.
Tesla only produces Model S and Model X vehicles at its Fremont factory in California. With the last refresh, Tesla had difficulties ramping up production.
Now, Tesla has significantly reduced its production capacity for these vehicle programs, as demand has declined over the last few years.
Currently, Tesla quotes a 2-month wait time to receive a new, made-to-order Model S in California.
Electrek’s Take
Top comment by Doug T
A paper published this week in one of the world's most respected scientific journals, Nature, found that
"Musk’s public persona therefore may have reduced liberal support for Teslas without increasing conservative support"
This may seem obvious, but they dig down into various multi-year polls, sales data, etc
The paper title is:
"Liberals are less willing to buy Teslas than other electric vehicles, moderated by perceptions of Elon Musk"
When the lead time for ordering is too long, as it currently could be in Europe, and California is at 2 months, Tesla has sometimes shut down new orders.
It could be as simple as that.
Tesla needs to ramp up Model S/X production after the refresh to meet demand in North America before returning to Europe.
The automaker could also be careful about locking in a price for Model S/X months in advance. The US is now imposing 15% tariffs on Japan, where Model S/X battery cells are produced. The situation has been fluid, making it hard for Tesla to predict costs.
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