To me, this is bad news. And
To me, this is bad news. And I think that it is not related to high Model S demand, but is about low 4680 battery supply. I think that Elon Musk believed that the Kato rd battery factory was going to scale up production last year. Providing enough 4680 batteries for the Tesla Semi, Roadster, and Model S and X Plaid vehicles. And at the same time Giga Nevada would scale up their own 4680 battery production, as well as new 4680 factories in Texas and Berlin for the Model Y and others to follow. But 4680 battery production didn't ramp up as planned, and Tesla put the Roadster, and Semi on the back burner, while developing the regular versions of the tri-motor Plaid Model S and Model X using the older 18650 batteries, and announcing the Plaid Plus as the Roadster placeholder, and then later pushing it out to next year. Then there have been delays in the regular Model S Plaid until June, and the Plaid Plus drops off the order webpage. I think that Tesla decided to shift all 4680 battery production to the Model Y, both in Germany and coming to Texas later this year. With so much press attention about the new model delays, I don't think that Tesla wanted to officially delay the Model S Plaid Plus again until the end of this year, when it was due at the end of last year. I think that Tesla did not want Lucid Motors to steal the headlines on having the quickest EV with the longest range. But Lucid's ship day has also slipped for it's Dream Air model, and the regular Plaid Model S will still be quicker, although without the top rung beating 500 mile+ range. And Tesla will follow up with the Model X Plaid which will be quicker than the fastest European big crossovers. Without needing to use the 4680 batteries. The good news is that Tesla will still be visibly ahead of their competition in technology and capability, just not the usual 2-3 years ahead that they have enjoyed for years now.