20 Model 3 Cars Allegedly ‘Held Hostage’ by Union Pacific – Unpaid Bills or Lack of Road Transport?

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About 20 Model 3 cars awaiting delivery to their buyers are allegedly being “held hostage” by Union Pacific. The assumption is that they’re either being held because of unpaid freight charges or a lack of road transportation to get them to their delivery points.

The news came from a Reddit user, whose Model 3 was supposed to be delivered on September 8. It got bumped to Sep. 15 but Tesla is unable to tell her when the car will actually make its way to her.

The Model 3s were reportedly unloaded on Tuesday but are yet to be released as of the night of September 14, which means it’s very unlikely that the customer will get her car today.

Tesla’s “delivery hell” follows the “production hell” that the company experienced just a few months ago. Several delivery nightmares are being talked about, including Canada being left out of major delivery schedules. That last rumor was quashed after someone spotted a truckload of Model 3s on their way to Vancouver, B.C., but rumors continue to swirl around the company’s challenges with respect to Model 3 deliveries.

The Exclusive Delivery Experience event held last weekend in Fremont resulted in “hundreds of cars” – all Model 3 – being driven out of the lot by their new owners, which means Tesla is scrambling to get as many cars delivered in September as possible. It’s a crucial month because it will finalize the numbers for the third quarter on production and deliveries. Production seems to be on high with a new report suggesting that 6,700 Model 3s were produced over the past 7 days. But delivery troubles still seem to be plaguing the company.

20 Model 3s might not seem like a lot, but they underline the tribulations of a car maker that’s still learning the ropes of mass production, mass deliveries and all the problems that traditional auto makers treat as part of their usual business day. For Tesla, this molehill is no less than a mountain.