Tesla Electric Cars Bound for Australia Sent Back to China

A line of electric vehicles of the model Y during the start of the production at Tesla's "Gigafactory" in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin on March 22, 2022. (Patrick Pleul/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

A ship containing Tesla electric cars has been sent back to Shanghai, China after a biosecurity risk was detected in Australia.

The Glovis Caravel ship was reportedly denied entry into the country after yellow spotted stink bugs were discovered on the ship, forcing it to return to Shanghai.

Australians waiting for Tesla Model Y electric cars cars onboard the ship received notification the ship had to return to China for further processing before reentering an Australian port, Drive reported.

The Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry department confirmed it had been working with a “vehicle carrier” in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.

“The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has been working with a vehicle carrier to manage biosecurity risk posed by live insects detected on the vessel and its goods,” a spokesperson for the department said.

“The vessel became subject to biosecurity control upon entry into Australian territory. The Department understands that the vessel has left Australian territory in order to manage the biosecurity risk associated with the goods.”

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The authorities discovered the Yellow Spotted Stink Bug on the ship, among other detections, posing a “significant threat” to Australia’s plant health environment.

“The department’s primary concern is the management of biosecurity risk to protect Australia. The goods can be unloaded when biosecurity risks have been managed to an acceptable level,” the government said.

Tesla advised it may reassign awaiting customers with a car from a different batch of production, Car Expert reported.

“We are actively investigating all available options to get your Model Y to you as soon as possible. This may include reassigning your order to a vehicle from the next batch of production. Further details will be provided in the coming week,” an email seen by the publication stated.

The publication also revealed 1,000 Kia vehicles were also sent back to Australia onboard the Glovis Caravel ship.

A Facebook post on the Tesla Owners Australia page regarding the Glovis Caravel ship noted all orders will be updated with a new vehicle identification number, new ship, and new delivery ship.

A Tesla Model Y charges at a EV charge station in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 19, 2021. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Tesla Deliveries Grow 38 percent in 2023

Meanwhile, Tesla has released 2023 fourth quarter production and delivery stats showing the company produced 495,000 vehicles and delivered 484,000.

In the full year of 2023, the EV giant increased production by 35 percent to 1.85 million. Deliveries rose 38 percent year on year to 1.81 million.

“Thank you to all our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and supporters who helped us achieve a great 2023,” Tesla said on Jan. 2.

The company will release financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 after market close on Jan. 24.