Temperature check on Tesla s Model 3: still scorching hot. The company has received more than 325,000 reservations, it said in an update Thursday morning.
Tesla Motors began taking reservations for its $35,000 electric car last week, and the numbers blew past expectations from the beginning — including on the first day, when Tesla stores resembled Apple Stores on iPhone launch day. The reservations, which are worth $1,000 a pop to the Palo Alto company, are almost triple the total number of all electric vehicles sold in the United States last year (116,099, according to Inside EVs).
In a blog post this morning, Tesla boasted of the single biggest one-week launch of any product ever. The company also said it did no advertising and chalked up the demand to a true grassroots effort by the Tesla team.
The higher-than-expected demand has raised questions about when the electric-car maker can deliver the Model 3. Tesla has promised to start deliveries at the end of 2017. The 13-year-old company, whose factory is in Fremont, has delivered about 120,000 cars in its lifetime. Earlier this week, Tesla said it delivered less than 15,000 cars in the first quarter, falling short of its 16,000 goal. The company, which chalked up the miss to parts shortages because of its own hubris, expects to deliver up to 90,000 cars this year.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted this past weekend that this latest update on Model 3 numbers will be the last one for a while. He said the company needs to focus on accelerating the ramp.
Photo: The Model 3, Tesla s $35,000 electric sedan, was unveiled Thursday, March 31, 2016. (Tesla Motors via AP)
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