The company expects to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year.
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The Model 3’s reservation agreement does feature two potential caveats to be aware of: You can’t transfer your reservation over to another person without Tesla’s permission. “Meantime, Tesla must manage expectations of those customers who plunked down deposits regarding the car’s actual arrival on the market and the delivery to driveways of those who placed orders”.
“By the last full week of March, the build rate rose to 750 Model X vehicles per week, however many of these vehicles were built too late to be delivered to their owners before end of the quarter”.
But strong Model 3 orders show there’s real, underlying demand for reasonably priced electric cars with high range, according to Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell.
Investors have expressed concerns about the company’s ability to meet ambitious production targets for the Model 3, especially after the slower-than-expected launch and production ramp-up of the Model X. And FBN Securities said “the near-term results are rather meaningless compared to the huge Model 3 opportunity ahead”.
However, six months after the first deliveries of the Model X, the company has regained some of the momentum.
Just like its predecessor, the Tesla Model 3 will have the all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive versions. The parts shortages were limited to a half-dozen items in a vehicle with more than 8,000 pieces. But as the company gleefully pointed out in its fourth-quarter shareholder letter, USA sales of its Model S sedan trounced those of directly comparable sedans from the German brands that have long dominated the global luxury-car conversation.
The Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit was created in 2009 as an incentive to get Americans to buy electric cars.
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Deutsche Bank said it would not be surprised if Tesla’s backlog reached 500,000 by the time the Model 3 entered production in 2017. Even at the lower end of the guided range, the year over year jump from slightly more than 50,000 vehicle sales last year will be nothing short of impressive.
