On June 18, according to the electric vehicle website Electrek, Tesla currently has a large backlog of inventory vehicles in the United States, so much so that it has to occupy the parking lot outside its delivery center as an "overflow parking lot." Over the past few weeks, reports have increasingly emerged of Tesla vehicles in stock showing up in parking lots not directly associated with its stores, distribution centers or service locations.
Tesla stock vehicles parked in parking lot
In Chesterfield, Missouri, near St. Louis, Tesla rented a partially demolished shopping center parking lot to park hundreds of unsold cars because its delivery center three miles away could no longer accommodate any more vehicles. Such sites, known as "overflow parking lots," are designed to cope with rising inventory pressures. Tesla has used such sites significantly more frequently this year due to weak market demand.
Earlier this month, another Tesla "overflow parking lot" was discovered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, sparking controversy. According to reports, the site was not designed for vehicle parking, so the city government issued a notice to Tesla.
Cybertruck backlog is serious
Many of the vehicles in this parking lot are Cybertrucks, which are currently difficult to sell. Despite Tesla offering deeper discounts, Cybertruck sales have dropped by half compared to last year, and Tesla has been forced to slow production to avoid further inventory buildup. Approximately 100 Cybertrucks were found on the site.
Cybertruck is not easy to sell
Similar Tesla "overflow parking lots" have been discovered in Nevada, Florida and Ohio in recent months.
Tesla's U.S. inventory is harder to track. Although some websites track information about Tesla models on sale, Tesla sometimes uses one product information to represent multiple vehicles with the same configuration. Still, the latest data shows Tesla inventories have risen over the past week, especially with a surge in the number of Model 3s on sale.
Currently, Tesla's overall inventory is higher than the same period last quarter. Although Tesla has reduced production and Cybertruck inventory has declined slightly, the company still has more than 3,000 unsold Cybertrucks.
Electrek noted that this is a problem for Tesla because the United States is its last market where things are not too bad. The company's sales in Canada, Europe and China have all seen declines to varying degrees.