Tesla Estimated Delivery Date Accuracy - How Precise Is It?

Tesla Corporation is one of the largest EV manufacturers in the world. The company assembles vehicles in the US, Germany, and also in China with plans to build new production sites all over the world. And while it seems that the company is completely successful, technological, and hard to compete with, it doesn't earn so much money and keeps getting into trouble with deliveries.

Today, we'll be speaking about the accuracy of the estimated delivery date you see when you order your Tesla electric vehicle. Should you expect your car to arrive on time? Or should you just take it for a wild guess and never rely on that date? We've spoken to several Tesla owners, to one of the dealers, and also with the company's managers to answer this seemingly simple question.

Here's what you will learn from this article:

• How long does it take in 2022-2023 to get your Tesla vehicle?
• Can an estimated delivery date change?
• Why does the estimated delivery date change in Tesla?
• Can you do something to get your Tesla faster?
• What are alternative ways of getting a car with no waiting time?

Let's get started!

How long should you wait now to get your new Tesla?

When a new or a facelift Tesla shows up on the market, the delivery time for such a vehicle may be just insane - up to two years. But usually, a Tesla presented in the current lineup on the company's website will be delivered to the owner within 8-24 weeks. Yes, the waiting time differs depending on so many factors, that's why the estimated delivery date is rarely true.

When you are signing papers in a Tesla dealership, they will tell you how long you should wait. Usually, the estimated delivery date is 4 to 8 weeks depending on the chosen model and trim. But that's what dealerships need to say to buyers. Actually, the estimated date may be twice or three times longer than that.

Here are the factors that make it so unstable:

• Suppliers. Tesla suffers from supply chains failing to deliver needed products and materials to their factories. Especially, now, in 2022, when we have problems with chips, things are getting worse.
• Delivery facilities. Tesla simply doesn't have that many trucks to deliver your vehicle to the chosen dealership sooner than 2 to 4 weeks even if it is available in the factory's parking place.
• Uneven demand. The current economic situation is still unstable and the demand for electric vehicles goes up and down with little chance to predict the moves. So, companies struggle to keep up with the fluctuating demand but they usually fail.
• Distances. If you are located in California, your ordered Tesla will much faster find its way to your dealer. But the farther from Fremont you locate, the longer you will have to wait.
• Manufacturing limitations. The process of manufacturing an EV is not that simple and if you order a very special trim of a vehicle, you will have to wait longer. Setting up production lines may be a hard task.
• Model popularity. Some models are easily available with no waiting time while others are really problematic to get your hands on. A lot of people have placed their orders for your model of Tesla and you may need to wait for half a year till you get it.

We can add some unplanned situations and issues happening on production sites like electricity problems, weather difficulties, emergencies, labor problems, etc. Tesla is a huge company and it can suffer from all kinds of corporative problems like strikes, absence of certain specialists, production line failures, etc.

And that's why they seldom can deliver your ordered EV within the time frames they estimate. This can be a problem for someone. Also, dealers are instructed to minimize the estimated delivery time because otherwise, buyers may choose another brand. So, you should be ready for this.

What do dealers and buyers say?

We've talked to some fresh Tesla owners and also to one dealer (not saying which exactly to avoid any problems). And here's what we know now:

Dealers usually say that the estimated delivery time for an average Tesla EV is from 4 to 8 weeks, but they agree that sometimes this time may be longer because of some reasons that the company can't control. The representative of a dealer we were talking to said that the average delivery time is about 10 weeks.

Tesla owners are much less optimistic. The majority of owners told us that they had to wait over three months, one of them was waiting for almost 2 years for his Model X. Only one person said that she waited for 6 weeks just as had been stated by the dealer. Also, Tesla owners say that dealers are not helpful and responsive.

Dealers have to support the company policy and give you some estimated delivery time that is pretty much never true. And this is something you should remember when depositing your new Tesla. Don't plan any trips on your new car until you actually get it.

Can you do something to get the ordered Tesla faster?

People keep asking us what they can do to catalyze the process of their Teslas delivery. We can't say for sure what you should do because this process is really hard to control and influence. To start with, you shouldn't worry much - there is little you can do, so just relax, grab your beer and wait for your dealer to call you.

If you just can't wait, you may try different things which will still not be very efficient:

• call your dealer or better visit the dealer to express your concerns regarding the delivery date - this will slightly affect the eventual date because the dealer will call you once the vehicle is in the city;
• call Tesla support service if you are waiting twice longer as it was initially stated by the dealer - you may just ask why the vehicle is delivered so long and see what they will answer or offer;
• file a complaint for your dealer - Tesla is known to be a partially client-oriented company, so they will take your complaint, but it's highly unlikely this will change something with your delivery;
• initially, when you only make a deposit, ask a dealer to sign a document with a certain delivery date and some consequences if these terms aren't met (for example, a financial fine for the dealer) - you'll need a good lawyer for this.

We can't see any good ways to deal with possible delays in the delivery of your Tesla. But if you just can't sit on the couch and wait until the long-awaited call from the dealership, you may try these things. Chances are you'll get your vehicle a day or two sooner than you could have it before all your actions.

Unfortunately, your complaints and angry calls will not change the fact that chips are hard to get, the Tesla factory has a lot of orders, and trucks need to follow some logistic rules and procedures to deliver your ordered vehicle to the dealership.

How can you get your EV with no waiting time?

Well, if we are talking about the Tesla, the only option to avoid waiting is to buy something right there in the dealership. This may be a vehicle after a test-drive session or it may be a car that was standing there for 1 year in a store. We see no problems in buying such cars, but someone will not consider them brand-new vehicles anymore.

Unfortunately, even if you live in Fremont, you can't just get the vehicle immediately simply because your car goes into production after you order it.

Here's what you can try to reduce waiting time to zero or minimum:

• Older models. If you buy a Tesla Model 3, it may be delivered much faster than Tesla Model Y in 2022 just because the Model 3 is a much older model and fewer people order it right now. But once the Model 3 is facelifted, any other Tesla will be easier to buy.
• Dealership models. Some Teslas are always standing there in the dealerships. You can buy them with zero waiting time - just pay the money and get into the vehicle to drive it home.
• A used Tesla. You may also go to a dealer and buy a used Tesla readily available for you at any time of the weekdays. These cars are cheaper, you won't need to wait at all, but they are used and this is a serious disadvantage.
• Choose another brand. You may go for Hyundai or Nissan, or even Chevy EVs that are available with shorter delivery times just because they are not as popular as Tesla vehicles are.

Final words

Now you know that getting your new Tesla vehicle is not that easy so don't try to sell your old car before you actually get the Tesla you ordered. Unfortunately, the estimated delivery date is never true for Telsa cars. Remember that your delivery may be as long as 24 weeks as with some other people we've asked about their waiting time when we were preparing data for this article.