Sales of Tesla Model S and Model X are blocked before scheduled update and update

Sales of Tesla's S and X models dropped about 50% in the first quarter. One possible explanation is that buyers are waiting for an anticipated hardware upgrade and a possible update of the design.

Last night, Tesla released its first quarter 2019 figures, confirming the production of 77,100 vehicles and deliveries of 63,000 cars.

Of these 63,000 deliveries, only 12,100 were S and X model vehicles, and for the first time, Tesla did not even communicate the distinction between these models.

This represents a 56% decrease from the 27,550 units delivered in the previous quarter and 44% from the same period last year.

These represent a significant reduction in sales, but Tesla did not give a clear explanation in its announcement.

Electrek's Take

We knew that model 3 shipments would be down this quarter due to the introduction of the market in Europe and China, but the figures of the S and X models are more surprising.

Model 3 has been available for over a year now and it has never been conclusively proven that it cannibalize sales of the Model S or Model X.

It is unclear if this starts or if there are other factors involved.

Personally, I think it could have more to do with buyers anticipating changes with these vehicle programs.

When Tesla announced Supercharger V3, we found that it would negatively affect sales of the S and X models, as Tesla could not confirm the loading rate of these vehicles.

He hinted that an upgrade would be needed to take advantage of the capacity of these new charging stations. I believe that many buyers are waiting for this upgrade.

In addition, we announced last year that Tesla was planning to modernize the interior of the S and X models and that some buyers might be waiting for it too, but our sources at the time had indicated that it was scheduled for June or July 2019.

Be that as it may, it is becoming clear that the demand for the S and X models has fallen dramatically over the last few months, which explains Tesla's constant price changes in an attempt to attract new buyers.

Do you think these upcoming updates will reduce demand to around 20,000 units per quarter, or even push demand higher? Let us know in the comment section below.