Tesla (TSLA) is aiming for a “decent” quarter for deliveries with a strong end to the quarter after supply chain issues affected early production in Q3.
Last week, we reported on Tesla CEO Elon Musk telling employees on a call that “this is going to be the craziest month of deliveries Tesla will ever have.”
As is often the case, Tesla has to deliver a lot of vehicles toward the end of each quarter due to its business model to produce vehicles for exportation early in the quarter and vehicles for domestic deliveries in the US and China toward the end of each quarter.
These are often called “delivery waves.”
While these delivery waves happen every quarter, this quarter is even more difficult as Tesla ran into a lot of supply chain issues early in the quarter.
In a new email sent to employees yesterday and obtained by Electrek, Musk explained the situation in more detail:
The end of the quarter delivery wave is unusually high this time as we suffered (like the rest of the industry) from extremely severe parts shortages earlier this quarter. This meant building a lot of cars with missing parts that needed to be added later.
As we reported last week, Musk aims for Tesla to reduce those deliveries waves starting next quarter.
He reiterated that in the new email:
And we are for sure dying to reduce the size of the end-of-the-quarter delivery wave! The goal is to do so in Q4 (allowing some Q4 production to spill over to delivery in Q1).
But this quarter’s delivery wave is going to be particularly hard.
Musk said that they are going to have to go “super hardcore” to achieve “a decent Q3 delivery number”:
However, early Q3 production was so challenging that we need to go super hardcore to make up for it over the next ~22 days to ensure a decent Q3 delivery number. This is the biggest wave in Tesla history, be we got to get it done.
Here’s the email in full:
The end of the quarter delivery wave is unusually high this time as we suffered (like the rest of the industry) from extremely severe parts shortages earlier this quarter. This meant building a lot of cars with missing parts that needed to be added later. I’d like to thank all Tesla techs and contractors that helped add back the missing parts, often in very difficult conditions. You rock!
And we are for sure dying to reduce the size of the end-of-the-quarter delivery wave! The goal is to do so in Q4 (allowing some Q4 production to spill over to delivery in Q1). However, early Q3 production was so challenging that we need to go super hardcore to make up for it over the next ~22 days to ensure a decent Q3 delivery number. This is the biggest wave in Tesla history, but we got to get it done.
Much appreciated,
Elon
Electrek’s Take
These kinds of emails about “going hardcore” at the end of the quarter are certainly not usual from Musk, but there are a few interesting bits of information here.
- Tesla had supply chain issues affecting production (duh) but produced the cars anyway and added the parts later.
- Aiming to temper delivery waves starting next quarter (heard that one before) by allowing more deliveries to slip to Q1 2022
- Aiming for “decent Q3 delivery number”
Musk generally chooses his words carefully in those emails, knowing that they will leak, and it’s interesting here to see that he is talking about only “decent” numbers.
Doing you think Tesla will continue its record-breaking streak of delivery numbers or post more average results in Q3?
Let us know in the comment section below.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
