Tesla Model 3 preorders reach extraordinary numbers

The opening weekend for Tesla’s new lower-priced EV was a massive success spawning over 270,000 preorders.

The company’s CEO Elon Musk revealed in a tweet that he posted on Sunday that the number of global preorders for the Tesla Model 3 reached 276,000 by the end of Saturday of its opening weekend. While this is a huge number, it’s not entirely surprising because on the Thursday evening when the highly anticipated lower-cost electric vehicle (EV) was first unveiled in Los Angeles, California, the number of deposits then had already surpassed 100,000. Considering the number of preorders on the first day alone, it won’t be surprising if the number of orders for the car reaches the half a million mark if the trend continues.

Tesla may need to open another automotive factory in order to meet the demand.

While no new updates have been released yet in regard to the number of preorders, it’s easy to imagine that the worldwide number has likely surpassed 300,000 by this point. According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Musk said that if the trend continues, orders for the Tesla Model 3 could reach 500,000, a number that has surprised Musk and the team at Tesla.

If this projection becomes a reality, the company may be forced to open up another factory in order to meet the demand and to also avoid production delays; a problem it has had with its other EV models in the past.

In order to reserve the car, which is slated to be ready in late 2017, a $1,000 deposit is required. Customers who have made reservations have the right to order the car once it is available. The Model 3 is Tesla’s cheapest EV model to date and starts at $35,000 with a range of 215 miles per charge.

The number of orders for the Tesla Model 3 is truly record-breaking when compared with global EV sales.

The primary reason why the Tesla Model 3 has already received so many preorders in its opening weekend is it costs less than half of the company’s previous models and its range is nearly double what drivers currently get from other competitors like the BMW i3 and the Nissan Leaf, within the same price range.

That said, the Model 3 is likely to face competition from General Motors, which will soon be selling its Chevrolet Bolt EV at the end of 2016. This car will cost about the same as the Model 3 and have a 200-mile range.

However, while Tesla is ahead of the game so far with its plans to have a presence in India before Model 3 production starts and itd plans to cover all of Italy with its high-speed charging system services later this year, there are still hurdles it needs to overcome.

To be able to meet its Model 3 production deadline in18 months, the company has to complete the Tesla Model 3 design, test and validate the car as well as get it certified by dozens of different regulators around the globe. It also needs to bring its massive battery Gigafactory online to assemble battery packs from imported cells and fabricate and produce the actual cells themselves. Finally, it needs to ready its factories for production levels that are 10 times higher than the company’s best to date. This is a tall order for any company.