The focus on Tesla Inc.’s battle to ramp up production swung to concerns over logistics and distribution on Monday, after chief executive officer Elon Musk acknowledged there were delivery bottlenecks and promised to swiftly iron out the delays.
“Sorry, we’ve gone from production hell to delivery logistics hell, but this problem is far more tractable,” Mr. Musk said in a tweet on Sunday, in response to a customer complaint on delivery delay.
“We’re making rapid progress. Should be solved shortly.”
The 47-year-old billionaire, who earlier this month faced investor ire over smoking marijuana on a live web show, has indicated in the past that Tesla’s customers may face a longer response time because of a significant increase in vehicle delivery volume in North America.
Tesla’s ability to deliver on production targets has weighed on its stock in the past, and the company has been working to iron out bumps after failing to meet production targets for its Model 3 sedans.
The company has eliminated some color options for its cars to streamline operations to boost production.
Mr. Musk also tweeted on Sunday that Tesla would bring most collision repairs in-house, saying owners were experiencing excessive wait times at body shops.
Separately, aspiring rival Lucid Motors announced a US$1-billion investment on Monday from Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF.
Earlier this year, PIF built a stake of just under 5 per cent in Tesla by snapping up shares in the open market, rather than acquiring newly issued shares.
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