Are Tesla Roadster sales dead? Order online now for Christmas delivery!
2010 Tesla Roadster Sport - click above for high-res image gallery
We just received the October edition of the Tesla Motors newsletter and a careful read indicated a very troubling statement near the end:
If you custom-order your car online, in showrooms or by phone today, you could have your car in time for Christmas.
There have been indications for some time that Roadster sales had stalled and for over a year the company has said that they are sold out through about November 2009. While Tesla claims it has been getting new sales, they have yet to announce any new numbers. If you can custom order a Roadster now (late October) for delivery before Christmas, that certainly indicates that nearly all existing orders have been fulfilled. We contacted Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad who told us:
We are just over 850 deliveries. Like all major manufacturers in production (and those who keep books according to generally accepted accounting principles), we count sales and revenue when cars are delivered. Now that we are ramped up in production, we do not provide data on the order.
Virtually all premium carmakers have been hit hard by the recession, but this certainly doesn't bode well for Tesla. They still have at least two years until deliveries of the Model S are scheduled to start and, apparently, significantly reduced prospects for sales revenue in the interim.
Gallery: First Drive: Tesla Roadster Sport
[Source: Tesla Motors]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Snoopy 12:23PM (10/22/2009)
Sounds to me like there are a few possibilities here. 1: The headline. 2: Production speed has reached the point where, even if orders are still on backlog, new orders can be fulfilled for delivery by Christmas. 3: A mix of the two, which I would guess is more likely.
I signed up to be on the guest list for the Toronto store opening and the email I got back mentioned that there are still orders coming in (not sure if that means anything, but I'm putting it out there).
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Jeremy 12:30PM (10/22/2009)
I think their production capability has gone up significantly and there's basically little waitlist anymore like there used to be. 175 cars delivered in September is a pretty impressive number. To me it sounds a bit more like they're keeping up w/ orders now.
Nixon 6:26PM (10/22/2009)
Or maybe the big reason for this announcement is that Tesla learned about the $42,000 dollar tax rebate on their car that is available - but only if you purchase and register the car no later than the end of this December? I don't know.
Andy 2:10AM (10/23/2009)
C'mon Sam ... Throw me another herring.
Since when has it been bad business to have sufficient capacity to meet customer demand?
If you can't deliver product when the customer wants it, they shop elsewhere.
Snoopy 1:43PM (10/23/2009)
That's kind of my point, right?
Not too long ago the deliveries were at 700. Now they're jumping very close to 1,000. To me that sounds like Tesla's simply moving faster.
Andy 11:03PM (10/25/2009)
Sorry Snoopy, didn't mean to chew on your bone.
Just using reply to showboat my own opinions at the top of the page.
Snoopy 1:04AM (10/26/2009)
Oh, no worries Andy,
I was simply acknowledging what everybody was saying and continuing to clarify my point, and which side I was really leaning to with what I originally wrote.
Serge 12:25PM (10/22/2009)
So Tesla Motors is finally nearing the transition from start up "wait years/months for your Roadster" mode to a more established "fill up the store/dealer inventory" model and it's a sign of trouble? I don't get your reasoning here, Sam.
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Zeph 12:33PM (10/22/2009)
Another stupid hit piece based on a non news item. The fact about Tesla is that customers accept it, endorse it, buy it despite it's amazingly high price and are financing a leader in the electric car revolution. If it fails now, it will be because of conspiracy, not customer base. I am seriously thinking about a model S wagon, if and when it's available in Europe.
You can do better, Autoblog, Abuelsamid.
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wincros 3:16PM (10/22/2009)
Kind of agree with that sentiment. A two month wait does not mean to me that there are no sales. Six week wait for a custom MINI Cooper. That is an even shorter wait. It must be because they have no sales too. Just the opposite. To jump to a conclusion on little bit of data in a complicated process is as smart as the boob who concludes there is no global warming if it snows on Christmas day.
BlackbirdHighway 12:35PM (10/22/2009)
Ferrari strictly limits production to keep the lead time high because it adds to the exclusivity of the brand. I don't think Tesla ever said they were going to do the same thing.
Let's give them a few months and see how long it takes them to reach 1000 deliveries.
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Chris H. 1:47PM (10/22/2009)
At the current rate of production they should hit 1000 Roadsters before the end of November. If I remember correctly, they have orders for about 1300 Roadsters. Rachel says they have delivered 850. That should leave about 450 still on order. Current rate of production seems to be ~175/month. That means it's going to take about 2 & 1/2 months of production just to fill current orders. Guesstimate 1 week off for Christmas, and you're looking at the last week of January 2010 before they clear current orders.
This leaves 2 possibilities: 1.) they've had a lot of canceled orders since they released the 1300 number, or 2.) they mean Christmas 2010....
Chris M 2:36AM (10/23/2009)
Or maybe Tesla is boosting production, and will produce more than 175 per month for the next two months.
Simon 12:39PM (10/22/2009)
Maybe those that had ordered a Roadster have changed their mind and went with the Model S instead.
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Doug 12:41PM (10/22/2009)
Lets hope the sell a bunch in Colorado before New Year's.
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Boyprodigy1 1:32PM (10/22/2009)
I obviously can't afford one but I have rich friends that I am trying to drag to their show room floor in boulder. I really can't wait until I graduate college.
Steve 12:49PM (10/22/2009)
They need to advertise on TV/Radio... can't make money unless you spend money
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PopSmith 11:04PM (10/25/2009)
While it *does* take some money to make money, Tesla already has had lots of money pumped into the business by venture capitalists and serial entrepreneurs. They have also had at least a month of profitability.
Tesla hasn't done *any* advertising because their only vehicle is a $109,000+ car that makes news coverage for itself by being a crazy fast pure electric sports car at a decent price tag considering it's performance.
Once Tesla gets the Model S out they *may* do some advertising for it if they find that it isn't generating enough press by itself. If it generates enough buzz for a few years then Tesla could potentially get away with little/zero advertising until 2015 or later by timing a "Sport" version of the Model S and the release of BlueStar at the right moments.
mike 12:49PM (10/22/2009)
The story seems quite sensationalist in the worst traditions of what modern news has become, all based on some seriously flimsy 'evidence' and speculation.
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Lad 12:59PM (10/22/2009)
Hurry up and get you S model out there; I think you are about to exhaust the amount of customers who will pay $100k for an electric drive Lotus.
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