Delivery times for a new Tesla are getting so bad that the company may just end up stopping orders on some EV models altogether, Elon Musk has warned. Placing an order for an electric vehicle in advance is not uncommon, but the last couple of years have been continually affecting wait times. Furthermore, with no obvious end in sight to some issues, receiving delivery of a new EV is likely to become increasingly harder in the near future.

EVs are continuously becoming more popular. How popular is another question and especially when drawing direct comparisons with gas-powered vehicle sales. However, their popularity is only going to continue to grow considering so many traditional car-makers have already made firm commitments to ramp up their EV production over the next few years. More recently, the issues surrounding gas prices appear to have led to greater interest in electric vehicles in general and their potential savings. Those savings today may be enough for some people to make the switch to electric earlier than they might've previously thought they would.

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Elon Musk was recently speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit via video call and provided an update on the current Tesla situation. Specifically, Musk explained that the lead time on Tesla orders is now ridiculously long due to production issues. Musk explained that although wait times were already an issue before the supply chain issues emerged, demand has since reached a level where it is ”exceeding production to a ridiculous degree.” To temporarily help with the issue, Musk says Tesla may need to either “limit or just stop taking orders” beyond a given period of time. Musk did not provide any firm details on when such a move could take effect, if it ever does, or which models are most likely to be affected. Earlier in the interview, Musk has said that he’s confident Tesla “will be able to sell all the cars we can make.” This was in relation to a question on whether there will be a commercial impact on Tesla by Musk buying Twitter.

How Bad Are Tesla Wait Times?

average cost of charging a Tesla Model X

Tesla offers a number of different vehicles and each comes with various customization options, all of which can result in varying wait times. However, Musk did explain during the interview that delivery times for some are “like a year away.” With a quick check of the Tesla website, delivery for a Model 3 without any modifications is currently listed as between July and October of this year, while a Model S pre-order is expected to be delivered between October 2022 and January 2023. From there on, things start to get a little longer. For example, a Model Y delivery is currently scheduled between November 2022 and February 2023. If opting for a Model X, then buyers shouldn’t expect delivery any earlier than next year, with current delivery estimates pointing to between January and April of 2023.

Of course, these are just the estimated times for the main models without any modifications. If making any changes to the default order, the wait time could end up being shorter or longer. What is clear, if these are the current wait times, and demand continues to exceed production, these estimated delivery times are only going to stretch further into the future. This is exactly why Musk has now warned that Tesla may need to limit or even stop orders at some point for select models.

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Source: Financial Times/YouTube, Tesla