Palo Alto, California – Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) said that the company’s new Model 3 electric sedan had received 198,000 pre-orders in the first 36 hours after the company started taking orders.
It seems that the number has exceeded the company’s expectations as its CEO, Elon Musk, said on his Twitter that they definitely would need to rethink production planning.
Musk had said on Thursday that the company had received 115,000 pre-orders in just their first day. Then, on Friday the Model 3, the numbers were updated reporting that as 198,000 people plunked down the $1,000 deposit to reserve their vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 is less than half the cost of Tesla’s previous models. It will be sold at an average price of $35,000 base price. The price including options and additional features could reach to $60,000. The Model 3 is expected to start rolling out their first orders in late 2017.
Thought it would slow way down today, but Model 3 order count is now at 198k. Recommend ordering soon, as the wait time is growing rapidly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2016
What to expect of Tesla Model 3
Visually, it is a combination between the mini Model S and the bigger sedan. It retains the fastback-styled rear of the S, but it comes with a small sedan-like boot lid, as the roof and the rear windscreen make up just one large piece of glass.
Not much is it known about the interior of the car as it is still in its early phases. What it is known is what Tesla has said so far, that it has managed to offer maximum cabin space by placing the batteries below the floor. This, along with a compressed dashboard, helped the front seats to be moved a bit forward, liberating space at the rear.
As for the engine, Model 3 will be powered by Tesla’s proprietary high-storage lithium-ion battery powertrain, which will give the vehicle the capacity to run for 215 miles on a single charge. The Model 3 will able to go from 0-60mph in six seconds as standard.
Other features made available in all versions of the Model 3 include autopilot software that activates the vehicle’s safety features without user input. However, Alexis Georgeson, a spokesman for Tesla said they are not getting rid of the pilot. He claimed this feature is about releasing the driver from tedious tasks so they can focus and provide better input.
Source: Reuters