Tesla announces it won’t produce Model S and Model X in right-hand-drive

Tesla announced that it won’t be producing Model S and Model X vehicles in right-hand-drive configuration any longer.

Many Tesla Model S and Model X buyers in right-hand-drive markets woke up to a bad surprise today.

Tesla told them that they either canceled their orders or have to switch it to a left-hand-drive version.

Some of them had been waiting for years since the design refresh in 2021 for their cars, but Tesla has decided to cancel the production of Model S and Model X vehicles in right-hand-drive. We recently reported on how Tesla inexplicably stopped taking orders for Model S and Model X in several right-hand-drive markets, like Australia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Now Tesla has informed buyers in those markets that their orders have been canceled. The company wrote in an email:

Due to recent changes to the vehicle program, Model X will not be available in Right Hand Drive. Unfortunately this means your order is unable to be fulfilled and will be cancelled. You will receive a full refund for any payments made. We understand that this may be disappointing news to receive and want to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

In some markets, like in the UK, Tesla is still selling Model S and Model X vehicles, but it is not accepting new orders and instead, the company is making left-hand-drive units available as new inventory vehicles.

The automaker wrote on its website:

Available in the United Kingdom as Left-Hand Drive. Take delivery by June 30th, 2023, to receive 3 years of free Supercharging.

Based on Tesla’s website, many units are already in the UK ready for delivery, according to the website.

Electrek’s Take

This is a surprising move from Tesla. Considering the vehicles hadn’t been available in those markets for years, I would have thought that there would be significant pent-up demand.

Maybe it was only significant in the UK and Tesla had a lot inventory of LHD Model S and Model X vehicles at the end of last quarter, so it decided to send those to the UK instead.

This might explain this move.