After several months of anticipation, CEO Elon Musk has certainly confirmed that Tesla will begin the production of the much-anticipated Model 3 later this week. According to Musk, the production of its first mid-priced car would begin on Friday, which is two weeks earlier than planned. Aside from that, it was also claimed that the first deliveries of the car will be on July 28.
The confirmation comes after Musk posted on Twitter, which is intended to Tesla enthusiasts, that the upcoming Model 3 has successfully “passed all regulatory requirements for production.” Tesla is actually expecting to complete assembling and constructing the very first unit of the Model 3 vehicle on Friday, July 7, The Next Web reported.
All the details regarding the production and the car itself remain scarce for now, but the South African CEO promises that the first 30 customers will have their wheels shipped to them by the end of the month. However, while the manufacturing might seem slow, the good thing is that the automaker will continue to double time its production over the next few months in order to satisfy its 400,000 Model 3 pre-orders.
According to NY Times, CEO Musk claims that Tesla is scheduled to put together around 100 Model 3 vehicles in August, with plans to take the number up to over 1,500 in the next coming month. In order to meet the schedule of its 400,000 pre-orders, the automaker is planning to manufacture approximately 20,000 units per month starting in December and onwards.
On the other hand, given that Tesla guarantees a “mid-2018” delivery date for all the new reservations on its official page, the American car company might have to streamline its building process even more to meet its goals. If not, this risk will surely get customers disappointed again because of late deliveries.
The production and release of Model 3 is a critical test for Musk and his plan to turn Tesla into a producer of mass-market electric cars. As of now, the automaker has manufactured luxury cars in relatively small quantities, typically selling them for $90,000 or higher. However, in 2016, it made about 85,000 vehicles while General Motors, its best rival company, produced more than nine million cars and trucks.
