Tesla Model X delayed, again, but Musk says Model S demand remains high

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made one thing clear today as he announced his company's third-quarter sales figures: the company has more than enough demand for its luxury electric vehicles and its main problem is getting production ramped up. In fact, Tesla expects Model S orders and deliveries to increase by 50 percent next year. Buried in the good news, though, was word that the upcoming SUV version, the Model X, is going to be delayed. Again.

That the Model X isn't exactly on schedule is not news. There have been delays talked about before. The original release date was 2013 which became late 2014 and then early 2015. The company is certainly getting ready for the X but now says it wants to deliver an all-electric SUVs that offers a good experience to buyers, without any problems. In a year plagued with a record number of recalls in the automotive industry, this is not a surprising stance to take.

In the shareholder letter (available in the gallery below), Musk writes:

In anticipation of this effort, we now expect Model X deliveries to start in Q3 of 2015, a few months later than previously expected. This also is a legitimate criticism of Tesla – we prefer to forgo revenue, rather than bring a product to market that does not delight customers. Doing so negatively affects the short term, but positively affects the long term.

Back to the good news. This is where Musk has some strong numbers to point to, including Tesla's highest ever quarterly deliveries of the Model S – 7,785 vehicles – and the most deliveries in a single day – 907. The company also said that the new tech announced a few weeks ago, the dual motor option and the autopilot capabilities, have "further accelerate[d] Model S demand." To meet this demand, Tesla is expanding its production capability so it can make "more than 2,000 vehicles per week by the end of 2015."

Of course, if Tesla wanted to be a bit more transparent about global demand and US sales and deliveries in particular, it could simply announce monthly sales numbers, just like the major OEMs do, But, when asked if Tesla would consider releasing those numbers on a call with investors today, Musk's reply was short and sweet: "Um, no. Sorry."