Tesla gets deadbeat treatment in Norway over late payments

Having secured hundreds of millions of dollars in Model 3 reservations, perhaps Tesla can pay some of its overdue bills.

According to Norwegian media, Tesla has received more than 240 payment demands from creditors, exceeding 2 million Norwegian krone (NOK) (over $249,000). For Tesla, this sum isn’t particularly overwhelming, as the electric automaker has a cash position of over $1 billion.

Interestingly, though, credit rating agency Bisnode has given Tesla Motors Norway its lowest possible credit rating of “C” based on its debts, and has warned suppliers not to extend Tesla credit. Also notable is that the payment demands arrived at the same time Tesla CEO Elon Musk traveled to Oslo for a transport conference, where he named Norway as one of its most important markets.

Norway has, indeed, been kind to Tesla — and electric vehicle manufacturers in general — as it has offered some of the world’s most generous EV incentives, creating a huge market relative to the population. Tesla Motors Norway earned NOK 2.5 billion (about $311 million) in 2014, with NOK 12.8 million (about $1.6 million) in profit, having sold around 4,000 cars. Tesla sold a similar number of vehicles in Norway in 2015.

In response to the story, Tesla Norway communications chief Sandvold Roland tells Norwegian news outlet Dagens Næringsliv that “there have been some challenges in connection with the system that takes care of suppliers.” Payments, he says, have been moved to another system, causing complications. Roland adds, “We understand that delayed payments are inconvenient for our suppliers, but we will resolve this as soon as possible.”

Somehow, it seems like Tesla will make it out of this one just fine.

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