Tesla’s new Model 3 is priced starting at $35,000 by Musk’s startup and had risen to 276,000 by the end of Saturday.
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First deliveries are expected to occur in early 2017.
Tesla, the American automotive and energy storage company that first manufactured a fully electric sports vehicle called the Tesla Roadster, has unveiled the cheapest electric auto model to date which is called the Tesla Model 3. Musk said that pre-orders for the electric auto are over twice as large as expected.
Demand is so high that it may be hard for Tesla to keep up with production – Mr Musk said the company is “definitely going to need to rethink production planning”. The company also identified the root causes of the parts shortages, one of which includes “Tesla’s hubris in adding far too much new technology to the Model X in version 1”.
Some analysts stated that the company might have difficulty filling all the initial Model 3 orders, which are accompanied by a refundable $1,000 deposit, till 2020.
Tesla owners are electric vehicle owners, and thus can benefit from a federal $7,500 tax credit. CEO Elon Musk revealed that Tesla was expecting reservations to be only 25%-50% of the actual figures. The credit phases out when a manufacturer hits 200,000 in United States of America sales. Tesla said it sold 12,420 Model S sedans in the quarter and 2,400 Model X vehicles.
Production is not scheduled to start until the end of next year, so buyers towards the end of that pre-order list are facing the longest of long waits before they take delivery of their Model 3. Although Model 3 will be a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, it will offer all-wheel-drive as an optional feature. However, production issues rose when reports pointed out that the Tesla Model X production problems could be repeated for the newest Tesla model.
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The orders boosted Tesla shares even though broader stock markets were slightly lower on Monday. The auto will go at least 215 miles (345 kilometres) when fully charged, about double what drivers get from current competitors in its price range, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3.
