Still waiting for a Tesla Model 3? Why wait times are about to go from bad to worse

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Tesla Model 3 wait times are expected to blow out again.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
7 Apr 2022
2 min read

The Tesla Model 3's wait times are expected to blow-out in Australia, with the brand's Shanghai factory forced to remain closed due to a coronavirus outbreak.

The news compounds Tesla's delivery woes, with Australia's best-selling electric vehicle already facing wait times of up to nine months as the brand struggles with the supply chain issues plaguing the wider automotive industry.

Had you ordered a Model 3 in October last year, you were facing a maximum wait time of up to three weeks. By November, that had grown to three months, and by December it was five months.

In February, Tesla revised its delivery windows again, quoting up to seven months, before changing it to nine months in March.

Tesla's ordering site is still listing a maximum nine-month wait time in Australia, but that is expected to change as the Shanghai factory - from which Australia sources its vehicles - shutdown continues.

According to local reports, Tesla's Gigafactory Shanghai shutdown has now been in place since March 28, as local authorities grapple with an outbreak of coronavirus. Including two days lost earlier in March, Tesla has now lost 12 days of production at one of it busiest production sites.

There were plans to reopen earlier this week, but they were abandoned as the city remains in indefinite shutdown.

It's a blow to Tesla, with the Shanghai Gigafactory producing half the brand's total vehicles in 2021, according to Bloomberg.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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