According to a report from Second Measure, approximately 23 percent of all Tesla Model 3 deposits in the U.S. have been refunded. Data was only available from the end of April, so this percentage could, in fact, be higher.
The story with the refunds goes back about two years to when the electric car maker began accepting $1,000 deposits for its new, lower-priced Model 3. Last summer, the company was set to enter “production hell” in getting these customers their $35.000 cars sometime in 2018. It’s estimated that Tesla had more than 450,000 pre-orders for the Model 3 as recently as last August.
Over the past 12 months, Tesla has faced significant production delays stemming from plant floor bottlenecks, equipment that was implemented more slowly than projected, over-automation, and supply chain issues. Distractions could also be attributed to rumors of worker complaints, and continuing coverage of on-road crashes associated with Tesla’s Autopilot software.
According to the report, Tesla delivered just over 8,000 Model 3s last quarter. At one point CEO Elon Musk had forecast 5,000 Model 3s would be produced per week. About 18 percent of the total number of Model 3 refunds occurred in April when Musk admitted that delivery of the vehicles would be delayed six to nine months.
Tesla wouldn’t offer specifics but did state that these numbers did not mesh with its own data.
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