Tesla hits logistics snag in Norway

Elon Musk says Tesla will slow down deliveries in Norway, the car maker’s best market per capita, days before the electriccar maker is due to report quarterly sales that investors watch so closely.

Tesla’s CEO made the announcement in a Twitter message on Saturday, in response to a report that local authorities had ordered trucks carrying Teslas off the road more than half a dozen times. One truck not stopped by authorities ended up in an accident Tesla’s revenue from Norway in 2017, more than double the previous year’s

is its weekly production target for electric cars by end-June that crushed two Model S vehicles on the trailer, according to the blog Electrek.

“It is clear that we are exceeding the local logistics capacity due to batch build and delivery,” Musk said in the tweet. “Customer happiness and safety matter more than a few extra cars this quarter.”

The Palo Alto, Californiabased car maker changed the Norway ports it ships to, requiring the use of more trucks to get the cars to stores and service centres, the article said.

Norway is Tesla’s thirdbiggest market after the US and China, with revenue from the country more than doubling to $823m in 2017. The country exempts electric cars from purchase taxes and road tolls and has invested heavily in charging infrastructure. About 21% of vehicles bought there in 2017 were battery-electric.

Tesla is facing difficulties in the roll-out of its mass-market Model 3 vehicle, the linchpin of Musk’s plan to bring electric vehicles to the masses. Ramping up production has been more challenging than anticipated.

Tesla is targeting weekly production of 2,500 Model 3s by the end of March and 5,000 by the end of June.