Tesla has so far received more than 373,000 reservations for its Model 3 electric sedan. That is after canceling the duplicate pre-orders. Even as Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) gears up to start delivering Model 3 to customers in late 2017, there is no way to know where you stand in the reservation queue. The EV maker has said that current Tesla owners, and Tesla and SpaceX employees will be prioritized.
Source code offers glimpse into Model 3 reservations
Fortunately, folks at Electreck discovered a way to find the sequential reservation number in the source code of “My Tesla” page of Model 3 reservation holders. Though the California-based EV maker has now patched the loophole on the website, Electreck had already collected plenty of data. Before Model 3 was unveiled on March 31, Tesla and SpaceX employees were given priority for reservations a few days in advance.
According to Electrek, the number in the source code stood at roughly 350,000 when employees began placing reservations. And the number soared to 363,000 before the first customer in Australia was allowed to place reservations. It means about 13,000 reservations were made by Tesla and SpaceX employees. Of course, the 13K figure also includes a few reservations for Model S and Model X from employees and non-employees.
Many Tesla employees already own a Model S or Model X
So, it’s safe to say that more than 10,000 Model 3 reservations were placed by SpaceX and Tesla employees. That’s an impressive number considering the two companies have less than 20,000 employees combined. And many of them already own a Model S or Model X. Prioritizing employees will allow the Elon Musk-led company to get a quick feedback and sort out any technical glitches.
Elon Musk said earlier this month at the Code Conference that the EV maker will hold another mega event towards the end of this year to show off the production version of Model 3. The company aims to scale up its production capacity from about 50,000 cars in 2015 to 500,000 units in 2018 to meet the massive demand for Model 3.
