Tesla blames battery delays for dip in Q2 deliveries

With the first batch of Model 3s coming at the end of July, all eyes are on Tesla to see if it can deliver its brand new car as promised. Its Q2 2017 delivery report may not add much optimism to the mix.

Tesla announced that it delivered "just over" 22,000 vehicles in Q2 2017, with about 12,000 of those being Model S hatchbacks and the remaining 10,000 being Model X crossovers. It built a few more than it delivered, constructing 25,708 vehicles. Both these numbers are lower than Q1, when Tesla delivered about 25,000 vehicles after building 25,418 of 'em.

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But, like any bit of bad corporate news, Tesla's got an excuse. The company cited "a severe production shortfall" of its largest 100-kWh battery packs. Through the beginning of June, 100-kWh battery production was just 40 percent of demand, but the problem cleaned itself up after that. Tesla believes its deliveries in the second half of 2017 will likely exceed the first half.

Tesla also made mention of the Model 3 in its quarterly sales report. As CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter over the weekend, the first production-ready Model 3 should roll off the line this week, with a group of about 30 customer cars being delivered on July 28. The production line will start out slow, with ramp-up taking place over the next several months.

The company is bolstering its efforts in other ways, too. The company said it started adding fully loaded new Teslas to its service loaner fleet, under the presumption that a service loaner should always be a better model than the one the customer brought in for service. "The customer should never suffer for something that is our fault," the press release reads.

This is officially the last quarterly report from Tesla that will include only two vehicles. The Model 3's numbers may not be massive in the forthcoming Q3 report, but the fact that it'll be there at all is great news. 

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