The wait for further details on the Tesla Model 3 release could finally be over on Sunday, as we will likely hear a firm date for the release. On Friday, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that on Sunday, he will reveal some news about the Model 3 release date.
Musk hints at “news on Sunday” about the Tesla Model 3 release
Musk’s tweet came in reply to a Twitter user who said “speculation on Model 3 final release date has to stop.” The Tesla Model 3, which starts at $35,000, was revealed last year, but Musk previously said that the production version of its least expensive car to date will be shown in July. But there was no information on the official release date until now.
Though Musk did not elaborate on the news he will be sharing on Sunday, previous details from Musk suggest that it will be something related to the Model 3 production schedule.
News on Sunday
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2017
Musk recently said that Tesla is “definitely” on track to start Model 3 production in July. Musk also revealed that buyers will get the configurator sometime in July to customize their orders but only in the form of color and wheel size. The CEO announced this at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in California earlier this month. More options will be added to the configurator as production ramps up, Musk said.
The Tesla Model 3, which has already gotten more than 400,000 pre-orders, is scheduled for delivery in 2018. The Model 3 is unique in many ways. The company did away with a few traditional production processes to stick to the production schedule. The EV maker also jumped over the manufacturing prototype stage for the Model 3 and went straight to full production. Musk aims to accelerate Model 3 production to 5,000 vehicles per week this year and then to 10,000 per week next year.
This could be an eventful week for Tesla stock
Thanks to this three-word tweet from Musk today, the next few trading sessions could be exciting for investors and analysts. The EV maker also usually reveals its quarterly delivery numbers within the first few days of the next quarter’s first month. So we may have Tesla’s second-quarter delivery numbers by or before the July 4th holiday, notes Investopedia. This again will be an important event for the stock.
Tesla expects to deliver 47,000 to 50,000 vehicles in the first half of 2017. However, the company may not give any delivery estimate for the next half of the year yet. In the first-quarter press release, the EV firm informed investors that it would release its guidance a few weeks after the start of Model 3 production.
The road ahead won’t be easy for Tesla and its Model 3 due to the rising competition. The latest to join the list is BMW, which plans to showcase an electric sedan at Germany’s biggest car show in Munich in September. BMW’s sedan will compete directly with the Model 3, noted German business newspaper Handelsblatt.
In pre-market trading today, Tesla shares were in the green. Year to date, the stock is up almost 69%, while in the last year, it is up almost 87%.
