First Production Tesla Model 3 to Appear This Week, Says Musk

Production of the Model 3 is set to begin two weeks ahead of schedule, according to Tesla Motors chief executive and second most famous Twitter user in America, Elon Musk. While that news would probably be more exciting if we had ever been given a definitive timeline for the vehicle, the CEO claims it should equate to the very first car rolling off the assembly line by the end of this week.

“Model 3 passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule. Expecting to complete SN1 on Friday,” Musk tweeted late last night, causing half a million Tesla fans to engage in a collective round of giddy, high-pitched squealing. However, the most enthralled members of the company’s rabid fan base are likely to be the 30 people who get to wrap their quivering digits around the steering wheel of their very own Model 3 before the end of July.

Model 3 passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule. Expecting to complete SN1 on Friday

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2017

In a celebratory, party at my house-style announcement, Musk issued a follow-up tweet reading, “Handover party for first 30 customer Model 3’s on the 28th! Production grows exponentially, so Aug should be 100 cars and Sept above 1,500.” He then claimed a prospective 20,000 completed units per month by December.

When the Model 3 was first announced over a year ago in California, Musk suggested deliveries should begin before the end of 2017. However, there was no clear production schedule as Tesla seemed to be doing everything in its power to begin assembly as soon as possible. Union issues with its in-house German supplier served as a moderate setback earlier this year, potentially stalling production, but by April everything was pointing to summer production start.

At last month’s shareholders meeting, Musk explained the first Model 3 customers would be limited in their ability to customize their orders. “I should say that we’ve kept the initial configurations of the Model 3 very simple,” Musk explained. “A big mistake we made with the X, which is primarily my responsibility — there was way too much complexity right at the beginning. That was very foolish.”

Early options on the Model 3 will essentially limited to color and wheel type. But Musk has continued to tout the sedan as the best vehicle someone can purchase “for $35,000, even with no options.” Despite it entering into production this week, Tesla has still not provided official specs for the vehicle. But earlier promises has the EV possessing a five-star crash test rating, a 215 mile range, and a six-second 0 to 60 time.

It’s estimated that over 400,000 people have put down a $1,000 deposit to reserve the Model 3, though the automaker has not confirmed the figure. If that number is to be believed, there should still be plenty of people eagerly anticipating the arrival of their electric car well into 2019. Hopefully for Tesla, the limited batch of summer-built cars prove it to be worth the wait.

[Image: Tesla]