Tesla cancels all right

Jonathan M. Gitlin - May 12, 2023 12:31 pm UTC

Tesla is no longer making a right-hand drive version of its Model S and Model X electric vehicles. The decision means that customers in countries that drive on the other side of the road, like the UK, have had orders canceled, and potential buyers are being told to buy a different model, a car from inventory, or try a left-hand drive version.

About 30 percent of the world's nations drive on the left side of the road, known confusingly as right-hand drive, as the driver's seat is on the right side of the car. The UK is probably the best-known right-hand drive country, along with most of its former colonies. While most of these are small countries, the list also includes highly populous countries like Japan, Indonesia, and India.

Ars was contacted by a reader from New Zealand who ordered a right-hand drive Model X SUV almost three years ago because Tesla reached out to him yesterday to cancel his order:

Due to recent changes to the vehicle program, Model X will not be available in Right Hand Drive. Unfortunately this means your order is unable to be fulfilled and will be cancelled. You will receive a full refund for any payments made. We understand that this may be disappointing news to receive and want to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Tesla offered our reader a NZD$3,200 credit toward a Model 3 or Model Y, although only if they purchase that new Tesla before October.

Although Tesla has no press office with which to confirm this news, the British publication Autocar confirms the cancellation of the right-hand drive versions. Customers with canceled orders in the UK are being offered a 2,000-pound credit toward a Model 3 or Model Y. It says that "a representative" for Tesla told it that dropping right-hand drive production was done for quality-control reasons.

As we've noted several times in the past, demand for the Models S and X is evaporating as the models are extremely long in the tooth and have been eclipsed by new models from startups like Rivian and Lucid as well as established OEMs like Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi.

In 2022, Tesla built 71,777 Models S and X but could only sell 66,705. That trend looks to be exacerbated this year; in Q1 2023, it built 19,437 Models S and X, yet almost half remain unsold.