The aim is to ramp up the production of new Model S and Model X to 2,000 a week.
Tesla wrote in its Q1 2021 report that the new Model S is coming “very shortly.” Production of both the Model S and Model X was stopped for a couple of months (none were made in Q1) due to a major refresh.
The company was expected to already produce and deliver the new Model S, but some undisclosed challenges affected the launch. From the brief info we can expect that we are now perhaps just weeks from the first customer deliveries:
“First deliveries of the new Model S should start very shortly.”
According to Tesla’s earning call summary from Teslarati, Elon Musk said: “We’re going to aim to produce 2,000 Model S and Model X per week,”. 2,000 units a week – obviously after a ramp-up phase – is in line with general manufacturing capacity reserved for the Model S/X at 100,000 per year.
The last time Tesla was selling Model S/X at around 100,000 a year was 2017 and 2018 (peak years for the pair).
The Model S/X launch delay was not explained in details, but it seems that the upgrade was more challenging than expected, at least partially related to the “the ongoing global supply shortage:”
“As for Model S and Model X, Musk notes that there are more challenges than expected. Musk lists some improvements coming to the vehicles, such as their new interior, battery pack, electric motor, and features. Elon adds that Tesla is just making refinements to cars that are already built. A ramp is coming likely in May.”
One of the most interesting notes was that the new Model S and Model X – according to Musk (via Teslarati), “are actually cheaper to produce.”
That’s would be a major boost to margins as the prices of the top Model S/X Plaid are much higher than before. The company has then a vital interest to launch the new version as soon as possible.
Let’s recall the expected delivery timeline for new orders:
- Model S: 10-14 weeks (Plaid+ in Mid-2022) from 4-11 weeks (Plaid+ in Late 2021)
- Model X: May-June 2021 (no change here)
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