Tesla share: Tesla is thinking about stopping orders

Strong demand for electric cars is blowing up order books at car manufacturers
Tesla considers order freeze
Price calculation difficult with long delivery times

Not only the high fuel prices as a result of the Ukraine war are a reason that more and more vehicle buyers prefer electric cars to fuel-powered vehicles. The state subsidies also make Stromer attractive for those interested in new cars. The industry is also benefiting from the growing environmental awareness among the population. As a result, the order books of car manufacturers with electric cars in the model range are bulging – even though the industry is suffering from supply bottlenecks for components at the same time and is still having to deal with disruptions in the supply chain due to the corona pandemic and the Ukraine war. The result is long delivery times. According to the online portal carwow, buyers of the Volkswagen E-model VW ID.3 already have to wait around a year for their vehicle to be delivered, and the Porsche Taycan also takes around 10 months from ordering to delivery the customers, just like the electric models from Opel.

Will Tesla stop taking orders soon?

The electric car pioneer Tesla, which has a purely electric model range, is particularly affected by the developments. In an interview at the Financial Times Future of Cars Conference, Tesla boss Elon Musk explained the current situation for the US group. “Demand is currently exceeding production to an insane extent,” says the car manager. Against this background, Tesla will “probably restrict or completely stop accepting orders for anything that goes beyond a certain period of time because some of the delivery dates are more than a year in the future,” Musk continued.

Recently, Tesla had increased the prices for some of its models in view of the increased costs for the company itself. Apparently, this did not detract from the popularity of Tesla vehicles, so that Elon Musk could now possibly decide to stop ordering.

Long delivery times make prices less predictable

The background to the possible decision are probably also difficulties in planning. If Tesla accepts orders today for which the carmaker can cover its costs and produce with a profit margin, the situation may already be different in view of the current geopolitical events and the uncertainties about ongoing supply bottlenecks in about a year when the vehicles are actually delivered to the customers . Tesla must therefore already price in the expected costs. As part of the first-quarter financial statements, Elon Musk made direct reference to this issue: “Actually, on the pricing front, I should mention that since we’ve had record profitability this quarter, it may seem like we’re raising the prices of our vehicles unreasonably But the waiting list for our vehicles is quite long and some vehicles that are ordered have a waiting list stretching into next year, so our prices for vehicles ordered now really anticipate a growth in supplier and logistics costs, from that we know and believe will happen in the next six to 12 months. That’s why we have the price increases today because in some cases a car ordered today will arrive in a year’s time.”

In addition, Tesla vehicles are regularly equipped with new functions – if you order your vehicle today, you will probably receive a differently equipped vehicle in about a year.

Other car manufacturers are also taking this step

In view of the current challenges for car manufacturers, an order freeze is not an easy step, but it may be necessary. In March, Renault had already announced a “temporary pause in orders” for its electric cars and plug-in hybrids as well as those of the group’s subsidiary Dacia, citing the “current supplier situation” as the reason for this. The order freeze was lifted a few weeks later.

Editorial office finanzen.net

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