Tesla CEO Elon Musk emphasized how high the demand for the automaker’s electric vehicles (EVs) is right now, saying the automaker may need to pause orders or stop them altogether for new cars.
Musk says Tesla may stop taking orders for some of its models due to long delivery timelines, according to his interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday.
The statement, which came from Musk during an interview at the FT Future of Cars Conference, emphasized how demand currently exceeds production, amidst the burgeoning EV market.
When asked by FT correspondent Peter Campbell about whether Musk’s Twitter acquisition would have an impact on Tesla, the CEO replied, “I’m confident we will be able to sell all the cars we can make.”
After an awkward pause, Musk added, “currently the lead time for ordering a Tesla is ridiculously long. So, our issue is not demand, it is production.”
“But that’s at the moment because of the global supply chains and the chip shortages, that’s less around electric car demand which we are expecting to go absolutely through the roof, and you obviously have very ambitious targets for that and Tesla,” replied Campbell.
“Yeah, um, even before there was the supply chain issues Tesla demand exceeded production. So, now its demand is exceeding production to a ridiculous degree. We’re actually gonna limit, or just stop taking orders for anything beyond a certain period of time because some of the timing is like a year away,” said Musk.
“The frustration we’re seeing with customers is being unable to get them a car, not are they willing or interested in buying a car. I think zero about demand generation and a lot about production, engineering and supply chain,” added Musk.
Most of Tesla’s vehicles have seen multiple delays to their delivery timelines, with some vehicle and variant timelines reaching as far as May 2023.
You can hear Musk discuss the production issue starting at the 22-minute mark below:
Musk and Tesla have also been expanding the automaker’s supply deals for nickel and other necessary minerals for EV batteries to alleviate supply chain issues, recently announcing plans to meet with the Indonesian President on an upcoming U.S. visit.
