Tesla is working towards resuming deliveries of the newly refreshed Model 3 to local customers in the coming days, after halting them earlier this month due to a technical compliance issue found in the rear seat of the vehicle.
In an email to Tesla order holders awaiting delivery of the Model 3, the company’s local arm said: “Thank you for your patience as we navigate the technical compliance matter that caused the cancellation of your Model 3 delivery appointment.”
The email from Tesla Australia went on to advise on what has caused the issue in detail along with a resolution the company is working through to get deliveries back on track:
“We are pleased to advise that we are finalising this matter by ensuring access to the vehicle’s rear-centre seat top-tether restraint anchorage point. At this time, we expect to recommence deliveries in the coming week where your order will be prioritised for delivery.
“Once again, we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience, and we look forward to getting you behind the wheel of your Model 3 as soon as possible.”
Tesla finally launched the much anticipated refreshed version of its Model 3 electric sedan in September. At the same time, it opened orders in select markets including Australia, allowing thousands of customers to place an order for one.
Deliveries for a lucky few customers across the country began in December but soon after in January, deliveries were paused due to a technical compliance issue. This issue was a potential breach of the Australian Design Rules (ADR).
The refreshed Model 3 was missing an accessible rear seat top-tether anchor point used to install child seats and appeared to be an oversight by the company given they had sold tens of thousands of the previous generation Model 3 without any issues.
In 2022, BYD also faced a similar issue where a 5-star ANCAP safety rating of the ground-up electric SUV was paused in the country until visible tether points were available for drivers to use. BYD did rectify this by making the one point in question visible.
Over the last 3 years, Tesla has sold over 40,000 Tesla Model 3s to customers in all parts of Australia.
Up until last year, the car had been Australia’s best-selling EV for multiple years, only to be overtaken by the more popular, larger SUV from Tesla, the Model Y.
The popularity of the Model 3 continues to grow as sales had increased by 59% in 2023, finishing the year with 17,347 sales, despite the launch of the new Model 3 having a potential impact on customer deliveries in Q4 of the year.
Tesla notified customers promptly once the latest technical compliance issue which paused deliveries of the refreshed Model 3 came to the surface.
With deliveries to resume in the coming days, customers who have eagerly awaited the new and improved Model 3 will not be waiting too much longer to experience cleaner motoring.
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.