2024 Shipping Movements

I thought I would start a new thread for 2024 on European bound ships carrying Teslas.
The first logical question is why on earth would anyone on a Tesla forum be interested in shipping?

The answer is because once you have ordered your revolutionary expensive new car you enter the Tesla blackout zone - a frustrating period of non-communication from Tesla when you have no idea of what is happening with your order. If you call them, they just say they 'are waiting for a match'. What does that mean? Tesla don't build Model 3/Ys to order - they build whatever they want and then match what has been ordered to what has been produced. This 'matching' usually happens around the time the car is loaded on to a ship. Aha! Shipping has suddenly become interesting!

All Model 3s for Europe are currently made in the Shanghai Gigafactory and are shipped to Zeebrugge in Belgium, Koper in Slovenia or Barcelona in Spain through the Suez Canal in a journey taking about 30 days At the time of writing the Suez Canal is being avoided by most carriers and are routing via the Cape of Good Hope adding about 10 days to the voyage from Shanghai. It also adds about $200-250 to the shipping cost of each vehicle. All Model 3s and Y's for the UK are currently shipped from Shanghai direct to Southampton. UPDATE From Jun 24 MY for the UK will be supplied from Berlin!
Normally Tesla fully charter ships to transport their cars but during 2022/3 they supplemented the charters by using available space on scheduled services too. In 2024 I think we may see a return to whole charters in an effort to keep costs down and keep control of itineraries.


If you are in Auz/NZ, shipments are from Shanghai.
If you are in Dubai, your Model 3 will be loaded on to a ship that heads to Jebel Ali. Currently there is about one shipment per quarter.
If you are in Israel, your Model 3 will be shipped to Ashdod from Shanghai and again currently there is one shipment per quarter. Model Y will come from Berlin but is harder to track. Currently there are no services to Israel.
If you are in Ireland your car is shipped to Dublin via Zeebrugge.

Model S/X are shipped from Baltimore to Zeebrugge.

I mentioned Q1 earlier- this is because Tesla work in quarters with Q1 running from Jan to Mar. The Tesla business model requires as many cars as possible produced in a quarter to be paid for (delivered) in that same quarter.
This means that in Q1 the last ship will leave for Europe no later than around 8 Feb in order to allow for a 36/37 day transit to Southampton/Zeebrugge and then a (hectic) delivery push in the last 10 days or so of March. (A couple of days later if shipping to Barcelona) It is logical then to expect to see a large number of export models for the UK/EU market to be clogging the Chinese production lines in January and early February. This explains the feast or famine nature of Tesla logistics. Elon has promised his staff that he will try to suppress the end of quarter wave. To an extent he has already succeeded in this - by moving all export production to China, the US domestic supply is now much more evenly spread throughout the quarter. Production in Berlin is currently interrupted by delays in components as a result of container ships avoiding Suez, however this should only be a short-term issue.

You may wonder why we in the UK should be interested in shipments to Zeebrugge, Koper and Barcelona? Often it may be difficult to determine whether a ship is heading to Southampton, Zeebrugge, Barcelona or Koper and so it's just as easy to track all the ships to Europe. Often the ship may call at Southampton and then head to Zeebrugge and so it makes sense keep track of everything heading to Europe anyway. It's useful for me if our European readers advise their expected delivery dates and when VINs are allocated as that can help identify where a ship is going.

There is an pretty good spreadsheet populated with the latest (and historical) confirmed shipping information from a variety of sources - Tesla Carriers. It may be more of interest to you later as you become more engrossed in this subject! Did I mention it can become addictive?

Anyway, I think we can expect to see about 13 boatloads to Europe in Q1.
That begs the next question - how big are the boats? The standard ocean going vehicle carrier is 200 metres long and 32 metres wide and can fit about 5000 - 5500 cars onboard. A Tesla is larger and significantly heavier than a standard car and so a maximum of about 4500 cars are in each shipment. There are larger vessels that can transport more and I will make a point of mentioning it if a larger vessel is being used.

Anyway the plan is to post details of the latest Tesla shipping news for 2024 to this thread.

I will keep and eye on Pier 80 San Francisco for Model S/X exports to Far East and Baltimore for S/X to Europe.

There are a number of ship trackers you can use to follow the ships and www.marinetraffic.com is one with perhaps the best free coverage but there are plenty of others. The ships transmit a signal which is picked up by shore based receivers (mostly hosted by amateurs) and forwarded to the website. The trouble is that the signal is a VHF signal meaning the receiver has to be within line-of-sight and once the ship goes over the horizon to the receiver that's it, unless you pay for satellite coverage which is not cheap. With the aid of satellite tracking I will provide a daily update on exactly where each 'Tesla' ship is and provide an estimated time of arrival to Zeebrugge and Southampton (the UK port of entry for Tesla). A talented reader of the thread @Frizzy, has created an excellent webpage where you can track 'Tesla' ships.
I'll also try and add some background info which you may find interesting.

Correctly identifying Tesla ships from Shanghai is not easy and quite often a 'suspect' ship turns out to be a false alarm. There are other sites that claim to track Tesla ships but actually just track every possible ship that departs Shanghai, which is not particularly helpful. I at least try and rule out the improbable ones based on my experience. It's also free! It helps enormously if when you 'chat' to Tesla about your order that you ask what ship your car is on or if they won't tell you the name, at least ask when it will arrive in Zeebrugge/Southampton. Please post your info to the thread or PM me!

You can help me and others by keeping any posts on this thread strictly to shipping related matters - questions about when to expect delivery, VINs and panel gaps have their own threads, which I have been known to visit and contribute to also.

 

[janischka]

Have been trying to read up on the thread to understand when there might be some MX's delivered to Sweden. As far as I understand there seems to be no knowledge of any ship en route to Europe from Baltimore at the moment? So delivery is likely not happening until end of July at the earliest?

 

[MMikeSLR]

I'm expecting my MSLR on 29-30 June in the Netherlands. Received an email stating this date on 6/6. VIN got assigned 4/6.

Did you check on the VIN decoder? Is it a 2023 model?

My MSLR was confirmed for delivery in Belgium for end of this month on the invoice but local Tesla states delivery beginning of July ...

 

[js_rl]

Did you check on the VIN decoder? Is it a 2023 model?

My MSLR was confirmed for delivery in Belgium for end of this month on the invoice but local Tesla states delivery beginning of July ...

Yes checked it and it's a 2024 model. MSLR Stealth Grey. I haven't contacted my local Tesla though for EDD.

 

[Mr.Fart]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone now if the vessel "WESER HIGHWAY" currently traveling from Zeebrugge to Drammen is carrying MYP ?

Thanks in advance

 

[TM_Poland]

Based on past experience, I wouldn't expect another shipment to arrive from China until early August. The August shipment has traditionally been a large one to cater for the 1 Sep change of plate.

Literally last night our client finally got a VIN for his S Plaid.

His story is actually outrageous and shows how much Tesla needs to improve.

Her ordered his S Plaid following huge price reduction in for S and X in Europe in September 2023 - S Plaid Ultra Red with Yoke, 19" and black interior. They were doing everything to deliver a car at the end of quarter, so they offered him they will deliver a car on a trailer. It arrived at 1.30 AM!!!! But in turned it was damaged - there was like 50-60cm crack on the glass roof and plenty of deep scratches on the paint all over the car. So he didn't take a delivery.

Any normal company would over some bonuses and fix the car - all they offered was a wallbox... so he told them he is using his legal right not to take a delivery and wants a brand new car. In a return, he received multiple threats from a store manager in Warsaw that he will never be able to order model S in Poland.... He did make an order in the meantime, but he's been waiting since then - it's been 8,5 months now.

At least he has a VIN now, which suggests the ship must be on the way. In the past, I don't recall people in Europe receiving VINs for model S and X before the ship left Baltimore

 

[janischka]

I just got assigned a VIN. Google tells me that this means I could be eligible for pickup within 7-10 days. However, I can't figure out if this is in US only or anywhere. As there are no reports of shipping to EU from Baltimore does it just mean the car has been produced at this point? And that it will be shipped from Baltimore "soon"?

 

[ROIDRIVER]

Hi guys I just said I'd let you all know this, I called tesla today regarding the new EU tarrifs on the model 3 from China and they are expecting the cost of the car to go up by at least €8,000 and if you are waiting like myself to get delivery of your tesla model 3 then you will have to pay this fee if you don't get your car before July 1st even if you made your order before this date. I just said I'd make you all aware as I've now to cancel my order due to this. Absolutely gutted.

 

[tomsanderson]

Hi guys I just said I'd let you all know this, I called tesla today regarding the new EU tarrifs on the model 3 from China and they are expecting the cost of the car to go up by at least €8,000 and if you are waiting like myself to get delivery of your tesla model 3 then you will have to pay this fee if you don't get your car before July 1st even if you made your order before this date. I just said I'd make you all aware as I've now to cancel my order due to this. Absolutely gutted.

That would be annoying, but hopefully won't come to that. Nothing's set in concrete yet, and there's talk of some relief / exemption for Tesla as a manufacturer.

Also why not get yours from inventory? Plenty of SR and LR on there.

 

[Wackoy2k11]

That would be annoying, but hopefully won't come to that. Nothing's set in concrete yet, and there's talk of some relief / exemption for Tesla as a manufacturer.

Also why not get yours from inventory? Plenty of SR and LR on there.

Looking at the Irish Tesla site they have a note above the order options stating that prices are likely to increase from 1st of July, take delivery in June to secure current price. The GB site has nothing since the Tariff increase is EU related.

Thankfully I got my reg number this morning and collecting on Monday. Otherwise my wife would be getting me to cancel the order.

 

[tomsanderson]

Ah, ok I didn't see they were Irish. That makes sense.

I bet your weekend's gonna drag on! Enjoy.

 

[TM_Poland]

Hi guys I just said I'd let you all know this, I called tesla today regarding the new EU tarrifs on the model 3 from China and they are expecting the cost of the car to go up by at least €8,000 and if you are waiting like myself to get delivery of your tesla model 3 then you will have to pay this fee if you don't get your car before July 1st even if you made your order before this date. I just said I'd make you all aware as I've now to cancel my order due to this. Absolutely gutted.

That's a typical sales pitch.

1. There is no certainty that Tesla will incur any increase in tariffs
2. If so, you can assume it will be 10% at most, so roughly 4k euros
3. Some of that Tesla will take in on their shoulders, so I don't expect a price increase larger than 5-7%
4. In the past, Tesla has always respect the price from your order. So as long as you will make an order prior to July 1st, it's extremely unlikely you will face any price increase.

Sales agents or delivery advisors don't have any information regarding future pricing - they are being told "on the go"

 

[Mr Miserable]

The EU tariff for Teslas have yet to be determined. They are likely to be subject to an increased tariff but at what percentage has not yet been announced.
This tariff does not apply to the UK, where a 10% tariff is already in place. Currently the UK market is about to be flooded with a range of Chinese EVs from brands we are totally unfamiliar with. I counted at least 8 (non-Tesla) ships this quarter alone heading, just from Shanghai, to Bristol where the bulk of Chinese cars are imported.
It won't take long for cries of similarly larger tariffs to be introduced to the UK too. The US have introduced a 100% tariff on Chinese cars.
The EU and US manufacturers knew this was coming. Most have restricted further development in EVs because they cannot compete with China on price and this is what has sparked the EU and US governments into action. It will inevitably backfire with tit-for-tat tariffs hitting western manufacturers trying to sell in the biggest market in the world. It may force Chinese manufacturers into joint partnerships with EU and US companies together with local assembly plants. Whatever, it's not good news for the consumer- tariffs are more of a political weapon than of economic necessity.

 

[Alex86]

I am in the exact same situation as you, exact same model and delivery estimate has been missing for a week (after changing to April-May delivery for an hour or two). I ordered mine 2 days before you.

The Thames Highway ship has just pulled into Dublin port this morning after picking up a load in Zebrugge so fingers crossed we get allocated one from that. From what I can understand and from Tesla telling me, vehicles aren’t allocated in Ireland until the ship is unloaded in Dublin which then involves some element of manual matching to customers. In other countries it seems people are allocated cars when the ship is en route.

So if we are lucky, the ship will be unloaded all day today and we might get a match in the next day or so.

If not, the TA said there is another ship due in 2 weeks, but as Mr. Miserable has said there doesn’t seem to be any other ships out there!

I just ordered my Model 3 rear wheel drive white all standard just yesterday morning the 13th of June, what chance is there I may be allocated a car from the ship that pulled into Dublin on Wednesday morning? Or possibly from the one due in two weeks time?

 

[TM_Poland]

The EU tariff for Teslas have yet to be determined. They are likely to be subject to an increased tariff but at what percentage has not yet been announced.
This tariff does not apply to the UK, where a 10% tariff is already in place. Currently the UK market is about to be flooded with a range of Chinese EVs from brands we are totally unfamiliar with. I counted at least 8 (non-Tesla) ships this quarter alone heading, just from Shanghai, to Bristol where the bulk of Chinese cars are imported.
It won't take long for cries of similarly larger tariffs to be introduced to the UK too. The US have introduced a 100% tariff on Chinese cars.
The EU and US manufacturers knew this was coming. Most have restricted further development in EVs because they cannot compete with China on price and this is what has sparked the EU and US governments into action. It will inevitably backfire with tit-for-tat tariffs hitting western manufacturers trying to sell in the biggest market in the world. It may force Chinese manufacturers into joint partnerships with EU and US companies together with local assembly plants. Whatever, it's not good news for the consumer- tariffs are more of a political weapon than of economic necessity.

"The US have introduced a 100% tariff on Chinese cars."

They were supposed to, but they haven't and very unlikely they will.

 

[FastLaneJB]

The EU tariff for Teslas have yet to be determined. They are likely to be subject to an increased tariff but at what percentage has not yet been announced.
This tariff does not apply to the UK, where a 10% tariff is already in place. Currently the UK market is about to be flooded with a range of Chinese EVs from brands we are totally unfamiliar with. I counted at least 8 (non-Tesla) ships this quarter alone heading, just from Shanghai, to Bristol where the bulk of Chinese cars are imported.
It won't take long for cries of similarly larger tariffs to be introduced to the UK too. The US have introduced a 100% tariff on Chinese cars.
The EU and US manufacturers knew this was coming. Most have restricted further development in EVs because they cannot compete with China on price and this is what has sparked the EU and US governments into action. It will inevitably backfire with tit-for-tat tariffs hitting western manufacturers trying to sell in the biggest market in the world. It may force Chinese manufacturers into joint partnerships with EU and US companies together with local assembly plants. Whatever, it's not good news for the consumer- tariffs are more of a political weapon than of economic necessity.

Good points but I think tariffs can be required sometimes. The EU report shows that Chinese manufacturers get government help in the form of tax breaks and other methods right from mining the materials needed all the way to the finished product. Western car companies don’t get that help so they simply cannot compete.

The risk you have is China kills them off, corners the market and then charges whatever they like for their cars. Look at what’s happened to steel where they flooded the market with cheap steel, now the UK is at the risk of being the first advanced economy that cannot make its own steel. It would be a bit of a major issue if we ever end up at war for instance.

Hence in theory if everyone is playing fair and we all never fight then you’d not need tariffs. Sadly the world isn’t like that and some level of protection is sadly needed. Yes we might have to pay more for our cars but longer term it is also probably in our best interests.

 

[Alex86]

But will the EU raise the tariffs for Tesla, yes it is built in China but it's a US company and surely they won't want to do that to a US company.

 

[tomsanderson]

I ordered a new M3P on April 24th and still not received a VIN, yet I notice other customers are taking delivery already.

Is there a hold up on white interior? I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of Tesla!

 

[js_rl]

I just got assigned a VIN. Google tells me that this means I could be eligible for pickup within 7-10 days. However, I can't figure out if this is in US only or anywhere. As there are no reports of shipping to EU from Baltimore does it just mean the car has been produced at this point? And that it will be shipped from Baltimore "soon"?

I think the vessel is already sailing but has yet to be identified by Mr Miserable. I have received an email with expected delivery on 29-30th June. Also received an email for the 20k free supercharging, not the standard marketing email everyone received, but a thank you email with the 20k supercharger kms. Additionally in the pre-configured page, showing many S and X are "on the way".

 

[tnajanssen]

Are there any ships on the way to Zeebrugge with model 3 performance for this month? They just sold out all the model 3 performances, and i'm hoping to score one before the tariff increases.

 

[ani_1]

I just ordered my Model 3 rear wheel drive white all standard just yesterday morning the 13th of June, what chance is there I may be allocated a car from the ship that pulled into Dublin on Wednesday morning? Or possibly from the one due in two weeks time?

I did order the same config on April 22nd Dublin. I was told this week that it could probably take another 6-8 weeks. It could also be the same for other orders with M3 standard white. I felt like they are trying to force customers to buy other colours by delaying white car orders.