Tesla Model 3 handed over to first customer

Tesla CEO Elon Musk handed over the first customer Model 3 to its owner at an event last night, where he also pledged to meet demand with an ambitious production schedule.

He confirmed that production for the Model 3 is already in full swing at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada, US. It expects to build 100 cars in August, before growing output to 1,500 cars in September. The plant will reach maximum pace from December, when it'll be able to produce 20,000 cars per month.

The Model 3 has an entry-level price of $35,000 (about Rs 22.10 lakh) and has been ordered by around 500,000 customers, which is the maximum output possible at Tesla's new battery-producing Gigafactory in Nevada.

Like Tesla’s other models, the Model 3 boasts some impressive headline figures. The car is claimed, in its most basic form, to be capable of accelerating from 0-100kph in less than six seconds and be able to eke out more than 250 miles/400 kilometres from one charge.

Tesla recently injected $1 billion (around Rs 6,317 crore) of investment into the company, something CEO Musk has previously said would help the company meet the high demand requirements of its new model.

The manufacturer has raised capital to help production and ease the financial risk associated with the production run, which led to a rise in its share price that was also helped by reports of its future model plans, including the Model Y compact SUV, according to New York financiers.

Tesla has also said it aimed to deliver a combined total of 47,000 to 50,000 Model S and Model Xs in the first half of this year, but did not give a figure for Model 3 target sales.

It has, however, reaffirmed its pledge to deliver 500,000 vehicles in 2018 and one million in 2020, when the Gigafactory is expected to reach full capacity – a sharp rise from the 80,000 delivered in 2016.

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