Elon Musk Asks Tesla Employees to Cut Vehicle Delivery Costs

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently asked employees to find ways to lower the cost of delivering electric vehicles to consumers due to persistent port restrictions and growing shipping costs.

Musk sent out a company-wide email directing employees to do this instead of pushing orders out at the last minute to meet end-of-quarter sales objectives. 

The electric automobile manufacturer has struggled to meet its delivery deadlines to consumers in the U.S. this year. Unfortunately, some Tesla customers have even waited months to receive their vehicle. 

These delays resulted in out-of-pocket expenses for rentals and ride-hailing apps, as well as the need to reapply for loans owing to missed deadlines. 

However, Tesla isn’t the only company that has kept its customers waiting. Rivian Automotive, a recently public competitor, also had to alert customers who had reserved an R1S sport utility vehicle of delivery delays last week.

Despite this, Tesla’s sales have increased this year, presumably unaffected by the uncertainty of delivery dates.

In fact, Vehicle deliveries totaled over 500,000 in 2020. Moreover, Tesla has already delivered 627,350 automobiles throughout the first three quarters of 2021. But the corporation has not provided a precise aim for 2021 vehicle deliveries since the start of the year.

Junheng Li, CEO and Head of Research at JL Warren Capital, wrote to investors last week. Her note stated that she believes Tesla sales will continue to climb in China this quarter.

According to a Canalys study, 1.3 million electric vehicles were sold in China in 2020. Additionally, the firm stated that EV sales in China would likely reach 1.9 million by the end of this year. 

China continues to be the world’s largest market for new automobiles, with substantial government support for electric vehicles.