Reports came out a few days ago that Tesla Motors is now on the final engineering and testing work for its full electric full-size crossover utility vehicle, the Model X, prior to its official launching next month. However, latest rumors say that full production of the vehicle will be pushed back to December this year or January next year.
Apparently, production of the Tesla Model X has hit a roadblock as the electric carmaker is said to be having problems with some of its suppliers who shall provide necessary parts for the crossover vehicle.
According to sources, Tesla has yet to place orders with at least three Tier-1 suppliers for necessary Model X components. Reports have it that the company is still negotiating with those three suppliers, but the parts in question are definitely necessary before full production of the Tesla Model X can begin, details Gas2.
The parts include certain high-strength aluminum components and other more generic parts like brake lines, among a few other components.
Given that component production would take at least three months to deliver especially if tooling, testing, and ramp up times are factored in, it is unlikely therefore for Tesla to go into full production for the Model X after its official launch in September.
Launching and delivery of pre-orders
While Tesla Motors have not said anything about the full production schedule for the Model X, it did say that it will start delivering pre-orders by September. At the moment, there are about 24,000 units of the Tesla Model X on pre-order.
It is likely that Tesla will not be able to deliver all those 24,000 units in September or even one month after its launching.
Tesla also projected that it will deliver 55,000 cars in 2015 featuring the earlier Model S and the up and coming Model X. With the company’s problems with suppliers, speculations are rife that Tesla might even struggle to meet 50,000 units of production before the year ends.
As of the end of the second quarter of the year, the company has shipped 11,532 Model S units, which is 25 units higher compared to its sales target. Production was even higher as the company produced a total of 12,807 Model S units as of the end of the second quarter. With barely five months to go before the end of the year, Tesla is certainly on edges or under pressure these days to produce at least 40,000 of its Model X.
An empire built on hype and high hopes
Telsa is an empire built by CEO Elon Musk on hype and high hopes. The company’s stock price today is based primarily on what investors think the stock will be worth five years from now.
Musk has said that Tesla will be building 500,000 vehicles per year five years into the future although it seems that producing 55,000 for this year would be extremely difficult for the company.
Accordingly, Tesla’s market valuation is like a balloon that is filled with hot air. As long as investors and shareholders believe everything Elon Musk says, they can certainly be at peace with that knowing that their shares today on the company will probably be more valuable tomorrow.
However, if there comes a crisis in confidence among investors because of Musk’s habit of presenting timelines that he or his company cannot even stick to, that projected valuation could deflate like a balloon that has been pricked by a pin.
Meanwhile, another fully-camouflaged Tesla Model X, all covered with duct tape, was spotted on August 13 out on its test run at the southbound Interstate 880.
The all-electric crossover vehicle is expected to be launched in September with a reported retail price somewhere between $55,000 and $75,000.
The vehicle is apparently part of several validation vehicles built by Tesla to execute final engineering and testing work for the car.
The Tesla Model X that was spotted on the I-880 was seen staying mostly in the slow lanes while keeping its speed under 60 mph. The test vehicle appears to be being tested by two Tesla engineers, reports San Jose Mercury News.