The first lot of the much-awaited Tesla Model 3 cars has finally reached customers today. Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, will be handing over the first batch of Model 3 cars to customers at the company’s factory in Fremont, California. The company expects to ramp up the production to 10,000 units per week by the end of 2018, which means that the production numbers will be increased to 5,00,000 units towards the end of next year.
Yesterday evening, Elon Musk unveiled the $35,000 (Rs 22.45 lakhs) Model 3 outside the Fremont factory. The vehicle claims to have a driving range of 220 miles (350 kms) on a full charge. Tesla is also offering a long-range version which is priced at $44,000 (Rs 28.23 lakh) capable of covering 310 miles (500 kms). The cars get a streamlined dashboard without any buttons or knobs and the functions can be accessed via a touchstream display to the right of the driver. Customers pay $1,000 (Rs 64,155) refundable deposits for the car, which is eligible for tax credits. However, any new buyer booking the Model 3 will not get one before the end of 2018.
Tesla Model 3 cars will be rear-wheel drive for now and will be focused on larger and longer-range batteries. The body of the vehicle is part steel and part aluminum. Moreover, the battery pack in the vehicle has three modules instead of 16 which is offered in the Model S. Speaking about the vehicle, Elon Musk said, “There’s nothing in the Model 3 that doesn’t need to be there. Everything in there has a compelling reason to be there.”
