Tesla has been instructed to “slow down” on car deliveries in Norway this quarter, CEO Elon Musk said on Saturday, in response to woes the company has experienced delivering their vehicles.
On Twitter, Musk replied to a report stating that Tesla shipments in the country have been subject to accidents on the roads. The publication, called Electrek, said the car maker has had trouble finding “competent transporters” to deliver batches of cars, something a Tesla representative said the company was working to address.
Citing issues at the local level, and in order to preserve vehicle safety, Musk said he requested that Tesla’s unit “slow down” on car deliveries for the quarter.
Norwegians are said to be major Tesla enthusiasts, largely because electric vehicles are wildly popular in the country. In fact, electric cars and hybrids accounted for more than half of new registrations in Norway last year, boosted by generous government subsidies that encourage their use.
Tesla dominates the electric vehicle market in the U.S. and in Europe, according to data from JATO Dynamics. Tesla is putting pressure on premium car makers in Europe, including Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi, to catch up on electric cars.
It was unclear which Tesla models would be affected, or by how much deliveries in the country would be reduced. A representative for the company did not immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment.
Tesla is experiencing significant challenges as it tries to move beyond high-end electric vehicles into the mass-market. Its future hinges on efficient, automated production of the Model 3 sedan, which more than 400,000 people have already reserved, paying $1,000 refundable fees to do so.
Musk said in July 2017 that Tesla would probably be making 20,000 Model 3s per month by December. The company then later downgraded those expectations. It currently says it will make 2,500 per week by the end of this month and 5,000 per week by the end of June.
–CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and Reuters contributed to this report.
