Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently shared on Twitter that Tesla will be throttling back deliveries in Norway through Sweden as issues with shipments into the country continue to mount.
In the last 6 weeks alone, 5 truckloads full of Teslas heading into the country via the Swedish port of Gothenburg have been suspended. Tesla typically brings its vehicles into the Norwegian port of Drammen but has increasingly utilized the Swedish port of Gothenburg as an overflow point of entry into one of its hottest markets.
Notably, the issue is not with Tesla but with the semi truck transportation company it is using to move its vehicles out of the port and up to Norway. Several vehicles have been stopped for issues with brakes and a trailer clutch issue that was so severe that it allowed an unusually large gap between the truck and trailer, according to local news outlet NRK. (Hmm, when will Tesla Semis be doing this work?)
Tesla Norway communications manager Even Sandvold Roland confirmed that Tesla is aware of the issue and shared that, “We are working to fix this. The shipments with issues will be removed as soon as we find alternatives. We have asked the Norwegian Trucking Federation to help find other suppliers can handle our volume.”
It’s no secret that Elon and Team Tesla are fond of Norway, which is the regular recipient of his praise as the world leader in electric vehicle adoption … and Tesla sales per capita. Rolling together Norway’s affection for electric vehicles and its well-established role as a shipping kingpin makes it an obvious target as the first overseas pilot of Tesla’s fully-electric Semi trucks, but the need is likely too urgent for Tesla Semi to be a realistic part of the solution in Norway this year.
Until a long-term solution or new carrier is identified, Tesla is tightening up its shipping standards. “We need to clean up so that it will get well and stay as we expect. We are not completely in goal, but we have a high focus on trucks being able to meet the demands,” says Roland.
In parallel to Tesla’s focused action, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has also increased its focus on these types of vehicles as they cross from Sweden into Norway in Svinesund.
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