Tesla acquires trucking firms to deliver Model 3 on time: Musk
San Francisco: Tesla has acquired trucking companies to ensure early delivery of Model 3 and help buyers get tax credits by the end of the year, the electric car company’s CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet on Friday.
Tesla had, originally, suggested that buyers who wanted to take advantage of the full $7,500 EV federal tax incentive would need to order their vehicles by October 15.
However, Tesla has reopened that window and extended it a fair bit.
“Tesla just acquired trucking capacity to ensure Model 3 can be delivered in US by December 31 if ordered by November 30,” Musk tweeted.
He explained that the automaker had “bought some trucking companies” and “secured contracts with major haulers” to avoid future logistical complications that have plagued Tesla as Model 3 deliveries rise dramatically.
That amounts to an extra six weeks of ordering time to take advantage of the $7,500 EV tax incentive before the phase-out begins for deliveries starting on January 1, CNET reported late on Thursday.
Buyers getting new Tesla delivery on or before December 31, will be eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax incentive.
For deliveries between January 1 and June 30, 2019, the incentive will be halved to $3,750, and it will further be halved for another six months before disappearing entirely.
Those waiting for the fabled $35,000 Model 3 will miss the full incentive, as the vehicle is on target for the first half of 2019, the report said.
While Tesla declined request for additional information, including the names of the acquired companies and those with which Tesla has secured contracts, Musk said that they are going to ship east with the trucks instead of trains, which is shortening the transit times by weeks.
“Skipping rail saves over a month for East Coast deliveries. All things considered, it’s better to use trucks. Single load or unload and direct to owner location,” Musk wrote.
Musk, who was the Chairman of Tesla for three years, stepped down earlier in September.
He paid a $20 million fine in a deal with the stock market regulatory authority, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve securities fraud charges.
Robyn Denholm from Telstra has been appointed as the Chairwoman of the Tesla Board. Musk, however, remains as Tesla’s chief executive and the biggest investor.
