Fixing production at Tesla is one thing. Now Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is struggling to get cars to customers.
“We’ve gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell,” Musk said in a Tweet as he apologized to a woman who said her new Tesla had been delayed yet again. Musk said resolving that problem would be easier than addressing assembly-line issues.
Sorry, we’ve gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell, but this problem is far more tractable. We’re making rapid progress. Should be solved shortly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2018
The Tesla (TSLA) customer had appealed to Musk directly on Twitter, saying the delivery of her car had just been postponed indefinitely — following three earlier delays. She said there were 42 Teslas sitting at the Union Pacific Railroad depot in Salt Lake City and one of them was hers.
Musk last week narrowed the paint options on new electric vehicles, his latest effort to streamline production. In a blog dated Sept. 7, Musk said Tesla is about to build and deliver more than twice as many cars as it did last quarter. During the three months that ended in June, Tesla produced 53,339 vehicles and delivered 40,740.
Tesla’s production and delivery woes serve to highlight how the company is struggling just as German car rivals prepare their electric line ups. Audi is expected to unveil later Monday its E-Tron battery-powered crossover, due to hit the showrooms later this year. Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz revealed its own electric crossover, and BMW showed off another Tesla-fighting concept model on Sunday.