Earlier this week we reported on emerging signs of a production ramp up for the Tesla Model X after several reservation holders who turned their reservations into orders are now receiving Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) as high as 5,000 and up. Now Tesla is adding to those signs by sending an email blast to everyone with a Model X order to update their delivery schedule.
In the email, Tesla’s President of Global Sales and Service Jon McNeil says that the automaker has been working through performance testing and that CEO Elon Musk has been personally testing Model X’s as they come off the assembly line.
During the conference call discussing Tesla’s fourth quarter financial results last month, Musk talk about the Model X’s current production ramp and revealed a few details about quality issues that the company was working through. Musk admitted that the Model X is an extremely complex vehicle to manufacture.
Here’s an excerpt from the email blast sent out yesterday:
“Thank you for your patience as we’ve taken a little extra time to ensure your Model X meets the highest standards of quality. For the last couple of months, we held back our production rate to check and recheck every part of Model X from each of the ground-breaking features to road performance. We’ve had members of our management team, including Elon, test drive Model X as it came off the line so that we can confidently say that you’re going to love your Model X.”
In the rest of the email blast, depending on the version of the Model X on order (70D, 90D or P90D), Tesla has been offering to upgrade the vehicle to get an earlier delivery as the 70D is not set to start production until mid-2016.
Tesla representatives have also been calling people with a Model X on order for the same reason.
Aside from the performance version of the Model X (P90D), the company says that they are currently producing the Model X 90D with 6-seat and 7-seat configurations and confirming an order for either of these configurations would result in a delivery in the next 2 months. While Tesla also offers a 5-seat configuration, it has not entered production yet, and like the lower-end Model X 70D, reservation holders can only expect a delivery later this year.
Of course, this apply only to people in the US. Tesla has only recently opened its online design studio for reservation holders in Europe and Canada.
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I wish they made a 4 seat variation. No back seats, and two middle seats on L&R of the car. Heck I wish they offered a 2 seat version, with just a massive amount of open space in the back.
Just out of pure curiosity 🙂 why would you want a 4 or 2 seater Mode X?
This is NOT a good use of Elon’s time. Tesla’s need a quality control team.
The article is highly misleading. Elon was offered a test drive on “one of the cars” came off from the line, not every single one of them.
Your comment is much more misleading. I never said “every single one of them” and I have no idea where you took this from. And you are the one introducing a number here “one”, which is not in the email.
The headline is a bit misleading. When I first read it, I thought Tesla had had quality issues with some of the cars that were produced and delivered very recently and Musk himself came to test the cars himself because of that.