Elon Musk: Tesla customers can still guarantee $7,500 tax credit

Tesla Model 3.Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday via Twitter that Tesla customers now have until November 30 to guarantee delivery by the end of the year.
• Deliveries taken before the end of this year are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which will be cut in half for Tesla customers starting January 1.
• When asked how Tesla had gained access to new trucking capacity, Musk said the automaker had bought multiple trucking companies and signed contracts with others.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday via Twitter that Tesla customers now have until November 30 to guarantee delivery by the end of the year after the automaker purchased trucking companies and signed contracts with others. Deliveries taken before the end of this year are eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, which will be cut in half for Tesla customers starting January 1.

Tesla had previously set an October 15 deadline for customers to guarantee delivery before the end of 2018.

“Tesla just acquired trucking capacity to ensure Model 3 can be delivered in US by Dec 31 if ordered by Nov 30,” Musk said.

When asked how Tesla had gained access to new trucking capacity, Musk said the automaker had bought multiple trucking companies and signed contracts with others.

“We bought some trucking companies & secured contracts with major haulers to avoid trucking shortage mistake of last quarter,” he said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on which companies Tesla acquired and how much the acquisitions cost.

Read more: Tesla is getting rid of a perk new Model S and Model X customers loved

The US government gives people who buy electric vehicles a tax credit between $2,500 and $7,500, depending on the vehicle’s size and battery capacity. As Tesla wrote in an annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in February, its customers get the full $7,500. But two calendar quarters after a company sells its 200,000th electric vehicle in the US, the tax credit begins to phase out. Tesla confirmed to Business Insider in July that it had passed the 200,000-vehicle threshold.

Tesla customers who take delivery between January 1 and June 30, 2019, will receive a $3,750 tax credit, and those who take delivery between July 1 and December 31, 2019, will receive $1,875. Customers who take delivery beginning in 2020 will not receive a federal tax credit.

Have a Tesla news tip? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.