First Tesla Model 3 gifted to Elon Musk

This story first appeared in the July issue of EVTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

The first Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle in production has been gifted as a 46th birthday present to Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk.

Tesla board member Ira Ehrenpreis was the first to put down his deposit for the first production vehicle but gave the rights to Musk whose birthday was on June 28.

Musk posted photos of the black car on Twitter early this month.

The colour is one of the few things customers can choose for their new Model 3. Other options are being limited to make production easier, some media report.
Musk didn’t give much detail about the first production release.

The first 30 American customers are expected to receive their cars at a party in the US on July 28, with production forecast to reach 10,000 in August, 15,000 in September, continuing to climb to a monthly build rate of 20,000 by December.

Kiwi Model 3 reservation holders could be waiting for delivery until 2019, Electrek reports. It says almost all of the 2017 Model 3s are expected to go to California.
The first models are expected to have a starting price around US$35,000 (about NZ$48,000), the same starting price as a BMW 320i in that market. EVTalk understands the New Zealand pricing will also target the same level as the German car, placing it in the mid to high $60,000 range. Options will quickly raise this price.

The Tesla Model 3 entered production after passing key regulatory tests ahead of time.
“Model 3 passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule,” Musk tweeted in the week of its first production.
It came out a day later than he earlier picked. But he’s confident of reaching the targets.

“Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec,” he tweeted.

The California-based company aims to make 5000 Model 3 sedans weekly by the end of the year and 10,000 a week in 2018.

Tesla has not said how many people have put down US$1000 (NZ$1400) refundable deposits for the Model 3. Musk says people who put down a deposit now will not get a car until the end of 2018.

Some reports say that if Tesla reaches its maximum target, it will build more battery-powered cars next year than all the world’s automakers combined in 2016.
The Daily Mail says the sporty five-seat sedan can get to 96.5kmh in under six seconds and will travel 340km on a single charge.

The car has only one display, a computer monitor showing details about the EV and its route. It’s controlled by a touchscreen in its centre instead of a traditional dashboard. Each side of the steering wheel will have a single scroll button.

Servicing all those vehicles will provide a challenge, the Daily Mail says.

Model S and Model X owners are worried about having to share Tesla’s company-owned charging stations with an influx of new electric cars.

And while Tesla is promising to increase its network of stores and service centres by 30% this year, it began 2017 with just 150 service centres worldwide.
Musk says a new fleet of mobile service trucks will be deployed to help customers located far from service centres.

Tesla also plans to double its global high-speed charging points to 10,000 by the end of this year and increase them by another 50%-100% in 2018.