Tesla Overestimates Demand for the Model 3

We recently mentioned that Tesla offered to cover the difference if customers’ orders arrived too late to claim the full tax rebate. A source also confirmed the company still had over 3,000 Model 3 vehicles in stock domestically.

So Elon Musk may have had a smidge of an ulterior motive when he tweeted the following on Saturday:

Not that there’s anything wrong with turning a profit – none of us work for free – but the tech world likes to portray Musk as some hybrid of Tony Stark and Santa Claus who transcends mere capitalism.

And…no. Musk wants to make money, too.

Under new federal legislation, once an automaker sells 200,000 EVs or HEVs, the tax credit available to customers dips by half. And since Tesla recently hit that milestone, the $7,500 tax credit for their vehicles drops to $3,750 on January 1, before dipping another 50% on July 1^st.

The website Electrek broke the news that Tesla has 3,000+ Model 3s left in inventory, and as the site points out, the company may have slightly overestimated demand.

“There was this impression that demand would significantly outpace production in the US this quarter due to the start of the tax credit phase-out,” said Electrek’s Editor-in-Chief, Fred Lambert. “It looks like it wasn’t entirely the case.”

Read more about this here: https://electrek.co/2018/12/31/tesla-model-3-inventory-us/