Tesla shoppers are rushing to place orders before the federal $7,500 EV tax credit ends on Sept. 30, triggering reports of scarce inventory and longer delivery windows in parts of the U.S., according to Inside EVs.
A TikTok creator known as Frunk to Trunk (@frunktotrunk) flagged the scramble with a blunt video, saying the inventory was "wiped out" ahead of the looming cutoff.
@frunktotrunk Teslas are GONE?! 😳 Inventory wiped out as tax credits vanish. 5-6 week ETA now! 🤯 What's gonna happen?! #TeslaNews #EVTaxCredit #TeslaSoldOut #ElectricVehicles #CarShortage ♬ original sound - FrunkToTrunk
InsideEVs tested Tesla's online order tool and found delivery estimates vary widely by ZIP code. In Austin and parts of California, the Model 3 showed availability in five to six weeks, while addresses in New Jersey, New York City, and Miami could take delivery immediately.
Tesla's own pages are leaning into urgency with "limited inventory," "take delivery now," and financing promos tied to its supervised Full Self-Driving system.
The timing follows a choppy year for the brand. Tesla deliveries fell 13.5% in Q2 2025 versus a year earlier, capping a multi-quarter slide.
But July brought a broader EV rebound: U.S. new EV sales hit 130,082 (up 26.4% month over month; 19.7% year over year) with Tesla leading, lifting the EV market share.
For consumers, the clock is the story. Federal EV credits expire after Sept. 30.
Switching to an EV can cut household fuel and maintenance costs while reducing tailpipe pollution that harms local air quality. More electric miles driven means fewer emissions in neighborhoods where people live, work, and go to school.
Installing rooftop solar can make charging dramatically cheaper than public fast charging or grid-only rates. EnergySage makes it easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers and save up to $10,000 on a system — pairing an EV with lower home charging costs for years to come.
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