Tesla has had a few bumper months of deliveries to Australian order holders. With over 9,000 EVs delivered in the months of August and September.
September Vfacts figures showed that it was the Model Y, not the Model 3, that dominated Tesla sales (or rather, deliveries.)
This left many Model 3 order holders waiting, including Performance variant customers whose delivery dates were pushed back.
Now news from local Tesla Model 3 order holders over the weekend suggests that a small number of RWD variant customers have received confirmation that their EV has been built. At this stage, many accounts suggest that these are only for Queensland order holders.
What could the long wait times for Tesla Model 3 order holders as many Model Y order holders have already received their EVs?
Some Queensland order holders getting their EVs soon
From all accounts, the first Australian-bound Tesla builds in Q4 have been of the Tesla Model 3 RWDs with many order holders taking to social media to share their excitement. Tesla Motors Club forum post from one user said:
“As another Gold Coaster, I can confirm as well. Got my final invoice with build date (02/10/2022) and VIN last night. EDD: Nov 8th – Nov 22nd?”
This is good news for those customers who have been waiting for their Model 3 delivery since placing an order back in February. All order holders spotted with their new Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) allocation, indicating that their Tesla Model 3 is built, are from Queensland.
That’s how far back the Model 3 backlog for Australian order holders currently sits so it’s good to see new Australian-bound EVs being made to head our way.
Model 3 February orders being built in Q4
Some of these orders were placed as far back as February of this year. This was prior to a couple of price increases for the Tesla Model 3, the Shanghai lockdowns faced by Tesla, and the launch of the Model Y in the local market.
It’s a positive sign that Tesla is catching up with those orders. More production is also expected with many more Tesla Model 3 and Model Y to be built for our market during the next couple of weeks.
EV demand rapidly increasing in Australia
EV uptake is gaining traction with thousands of backorders on Tesla and more affordable ground-up EVs like the BYD Atto 3. This is a clear indication that there is no EV demand, lack of models or incentives problem.
It’s all to do with EV supply and making it more attractive for manufacturers to consider Australia seriously. Tesla has led the way in this transition and they are being rewarded with customers waiting patiently for a great product in Australia.
This sets the stage for a big quarter of EV deliveries to close 2022 off, making it the best year for EV uptake so far.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.