Tesla Model 3 wait times extend to nine months in Australia
New Model 3 orders placed today will be hit with estimated wait times of between six and nine months, according to Tesla’s website, as strong demand pairs with struggling supply.
Buyers of a new 2022 Tesla Model 3 will need to wait even longer for their car, with newly-placed orders imposing a wait time of up to nine months – among the longest in the industry.
Tesla Australia’s website now lists an estimated wait time of six to nine months for a new Model 3 sedan, the brand’s only vehicle available for sale locally – up from an estimated “five to seven months” as recently as last month.
It means some buyers may be waiting until 2023 for their new Tesla – pending no further delays which, given wait times increased by 20 to 30 per cent in the space of a month, are not unreasonable to expect.
The reasoning behind the latest delay is unclear, however in recent months Tesla’s Shanghai factory – where Australian-delivered Model 3s are built – has begun to feel the effects of the global semiconductor (computer chip) shortage, which the electric car maker has previously managed to (largely) shield itself from.
A report in February claimed Tesla removed one of the two electronic control units (ECUs) in the steering column of the Model 3 sedan and soon-for-Australia Model Y SUV – ensuring the company could hit its production targets, at the cost of the capability for more advanced autonomous driving technology (prior to a retrofit).
Combine that with booming demand for Tesla’s most affordable model, with 12,094 examples reported as sold in Australia last year.
A ship from Tesla’s Shanghai factory docked on Australian shores over the weekend, carrying a batch of Model 3s – all of which are rumoured to have been pre-sold to customers.
Tesla wait times have increased significantly in recent months, from “one to three weeks” as recently as October 2021, to “eight to 12 weeks” the following month, and by February 2022, up to “five to seven months”.
The latest increase follows a price rise applied to the entry-level, rear-wheel-drive Model 3 earlier this month, from $59,900 to $60,900 before on-road costs – the model’s first price rise in more than 18 months. The Long Range AWD ($73,200) and Performance AWD ($86,472, including Luxury Car Tax) were unchanged.
With the larger Model S sedan and Model X SUV still limited to pre-orders, and no sign of the hotly-anticipated Model Y mid-size SUV, the Model 3 remains Tesla’s only vehicle available to order in Australia.
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