It’s been a while since we’ve heard about Tesla’s Model 3, the mass-market five-seater car that Tesla bills as their most affordable electric vehicle. Early on Monday morning CEO Elon Musk tweeted that production is ahead of schedule and that the first Model 3 deliveries will take place on July 28.
The first 30 customers will be invited to a party on the 28th to receive their cars. The cars are expected to roll out of the Gigafactory this Friday, two weeks ahead of the planned schedule.
The numbers Musk Tweeted are lower than expected, though; the Associated Press notes that Musk shot to produce 10,000 cars per week by December, not 20,000 per month. However, another concern has been eased by the announcement that the first cars will be completed his week now that government regulatory requirements have been met. Some pundits pointed out that Tesla might have trouble mass producing cars on deadlines in numbers it has not been before, and the current pace seems to be within the required deadline – as long as the schedule does not change again.
Tesla produced 84,000 cars last year, compared to more established automotive manufacturers like Toyota which move about 10 million per year.
The Model 3 could retail for $27,500 with a $7,500 federal electric car tax credit, but technically starts around $35,000. One full charge will take it 215 miles. Tesla hasn’t announced how many people have ordered a Model 3, but the AP suggests it might be about 500,000 – the company’s goal – based on Musk’s planned production schedule.
Rolling out all of these cars will also require some infrastructure boosts for the automaker: Tesla plans to add 5,000 high-speed charging stations by the end of 2017. At the beginning of 2017, there were only 250 Tesla service centers worldwide, a number which is also expected to increase.
