Here is a brief report on the current status of production and shipment of the equipment…

Production Status

As I mentioned in the update a month ago, we decided to bring the components for assembly and final testing to Ecuador, where we operate, to minimize the impact on rates when shipping the finished product. This also had the advantage of allowing us to do the programming, assembly, and testing , which provided some peace of mind regarding quality issues, especially as this is the first production run. The good news is that the first batch of products, which covers backers’ units and pre-orders, has been ready and packaged since early August.

Logistics Hurdles

However, this relocation brought additional complexity to exporting, as the quantity and value of shipping product require procedures to be followed and documentation to be prepared as a formal exporter. Added to this is the fact that on August 7th, tariffs from Ecuador to the US changed from 10% to 15%, which effectively ruined our quotes and plans for exporting the units.

The constant changes in tariff policy over the last year have made it impossible to adequately plan logistics, so we need to ask for a little more patience until we can ship the units that are ready to go. We are now focused on completing this shipment and are in constant communication with Crowd Supply to expedite this matter. Unfortunately, while this could be resolved as soon as this week, it could take an additional month. We ask for your understanding about this delay, which is beyond our control, and hope it can be resolved as soon as possible.