If you had your heart set on a shiny new Tesla Model S or Model X in Europe, I’ve got some tough news. The automaker, led by Elon Musk, has quietly halted all new orders for both of these luxury electric vehicles across the continent. This move means that if you’re shopping for a new Tesla, your only options are now the Model Y and the Model 3. What’s more, Tesla hasn’t offered any official explanation for this sudden change, leaving many scratching their heads.
Checking Tesla’s online configurators for the Model S or Model X in many European countries, including Portugal, confirms the situation. You can’t configure a new one anymore. Instead, the site only lets you browse existing inventory, if any is even available. While Tesla has stayed silent on the reason, many in the industry believe supply chain troubles might be the root cause for pulling these models.
The Model S and Model X are unique in Tesla’s lineup because they’re only built at the company’s Fremont factory in California. Think of it like this: if that single factory hits a snag, the ripple effect can be felt worldwide. This is a big contrast to the Model 3 and Model Y, which Tesla produces at multiple plants around the globe, giving them more flexibility. A problem in Fremont makes Tesla much more vulnerable to production hiccups.
Beyond just the European market, production snags for the Model S and Model X are already causing delivery delays in the United States. This suggests that if Europe were still accepting orders, customers might face ridiculously long waiting times. Tesla might be halting orders to prevent these “exorbitant” delivery periods from frustrating European buyers.
A Recurring Story for Model S and Model X
Here’s a fun fact: this isn’t the first time Tesla has hit pause on Model S and Model X sales. Back in December 2021, the company did something similar, only to reopen the order books in August 2022. This history suggests that the current inability to buy these models might just be a temporary thing, likely lasting for a few months.
Another theory for the suspension points to sales figures. The latest Tesla earnings report hinted at difficulties moving their flagship vehicles. Sales of the Model S and Model X have reportedly dropped quite a bit compared to the same time last year.
Tesla doesn’t break down sales for the Model S and Model X specifically in its reports. Instead, they lump them into an “other models” category. This category showed 21,551 deliveries during the second quarter of 2025. Experts estimate that about 8,000 to 9,000 of those deliveries were for the Cybertruck. This leaves around 13,000 units for the Model S and Model X combined. That figure represents a 37% decrease in deliveries compared to the previous year.
