Even though Tesla has tried to internalize more of its components production and supply chains, in order to be less susceptible to shortages and global trends, it is still today heavily reliant on third party supplies. And just like most other automakers, Tesla too is experiencing shortages, one of which is not allowing it to ship vehicles that are otherwise fully assembled - they just need one part that’s currently unavailable, the ECU that is needed for the charging port.
Apparently, the shortage of charging port ECUs isn’t affecting other cars being built right now and being delivered on time. Browsing through this post on the Tesla Motors Club forum, it doesn’t appear that too many people (all of whom are Model 3 and Model Y order holders) are affected by this issue, but that doesn’t make it less of a problem.
In fact, there are new users on the forum that registered an account specifically to mention this problem. One new user, who joined the forum just over a week ago and going by the name waitingforpart, expressed his or her dissatisfaction regarding his Model 3 Performance by saying that
My M3P was manufactured on 4/19 with VIN assignment on 4/28. The vehicle has been sitting at the service center for 3 and half weeks. I visited the SC when the vehicle first arrived and went again yesterday to see the vehicle sitting in the same spot exposed to the elements (not parked under shade like the others).
I've called multiple times and each time been told a different thing (waiting for firmware, they'll text you when it's ready, we are missing a part, someone from the SC will contact you but they never do). This is my first Tesla and I'm honestly very discouraged at the lack of communication. I understood when I ordered the vehicle that the ETA will change throughout the months and I was okay with that - never did I bug Tesla because I understand a lot of factors going into the order and building of the vehicle.
My issue now is I have a VIN assigned vehicle that was last charged on 4/19 sitting at a SC center exposed to the elements without any type of ETA for the missing part meanwhile Fremont is pushing out cars and has the parts in stock. It seems like they've forgotten about our cars and we are just waiting indefinitely for when Tesla decides to send them the parts. I'm actively making the payments on the vehicle, large down payment paid on the 4/28 and nothing to show for it.
This was confirmed by more forum members who said they were still waiting for their Model 3 or Y that had already been manufactured and had received a VIN. Others said they recently faced the same issue before taking delivery of their vehicle (notably caused by the same missing part) but that the part was eventually delivered, their vehicle completed and they eventually got behind the wheel.
The forum thread has been growing for the week and now an increasing number of people are chiming in to share their similar story. It also seems to matter which service center is currently holding the vehicle with missing part, especially when it comes to communication - some are better at alerting people of problems, how long solving them will take and what the delays will be.
