Tesla and CEO Elon Musk Are Surprised by Some Great News - TheStreet

Tesla (TSLA) - Get Tesla Inc. Report has established itself as the world's leading automotive group by market cap. The Austin company, founded in 2003, has also become the world's leading electric-vehicle producer, with four production sites on three continents.

The company spends nothing on marketing and advertising -- and has still become one of the most popular brands. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who is also Tesla's chief everything officer, has become the world's most powerful and influential boss. He has more than 97.8 million followers on Twitter alone.

But despite this international fame, Musk and Tesla somehow still seem surprised when they find success.

That's what has just happened in Australia, a country where Tesla has launched the Model Y SUV, one of its most popular vehicles, along with the Model 3 sedan, its basic vehicle.

Tesla on June 10 introduced the Model Y to Australians -- and just days later the automaker has pushed back delivery dates, suggesting huge demand.

Indeed, the company initially proposed to deliver vehicles two to five months following receipt of orders. That delivery window meant August through November 2022.

'Didn't Expect Demand to Be So High'

But only a few days later, everything changed. If you are based in Australia and order a Model Y today, you will need to be patient.

Australian consumers who order the Model Y currently will receive their vehicles between February 2023 and May 2023, according to the Tesla Australia website. They'll have to wait at least eight months to get their vehicles.

The Model Ys that will be sold in the Australian market will come from the Tesla factory in Shanghai, which was closed for several weeks in March due to the lockdown linked to a resurgence of covid-19 in China.

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The factory reopened some time ago and has returned to its normal production rate, according to press reports. Apart from these covid-19-related problems, Tesla, like other automakers, is also facing chip shortages, supply-chain disruptions and rising costs of raw materials like nickel.

The high demand seems to have surprised Musk.

"We’re working on accelerating RHD Model Y production," the billionaire entrepreneur said on Twitter. "Didn’t expect demand to be so high!"

The comments to Musk's tweet were as usual glowing. They show how the tech tycoon has managed to create buzz and demand for the company's vehicles.

"You keep making great products, we'll keep buying them," said one Twitter user.

"I have been asking for two years about when. Demand has been coming. It is a shame that this is a surprise," said another.

Others took the opportunity to ask Musk to build a factory in Australia to create jobs.

"Build a Giga factory in Wollongong," a user posted. "Plenty of local demand and close proximity to a port. Plus you can call it Giga Gong 😂."

Musk during the Q1-earnings call promised that by year's end he would announce where the company would put new factories.

The Model Y and Model 3 together represented more than 95% of Tesla's production and deliveries in the first quarter. The company produced 305,407 vehicles and delivered 310,048 in Q1. The company does not break out separate counts for the two models.

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