Tesla Delivers Its First Handful of Model 3 EVs

Tesla Inc. delivered the first 30 of its new Model 3 electric sedans last Friday night. The company says it will need more than a year to catch up with the 500,000 tentative orders it has received for the car.

Tesla has been trumping a starting price of $35,000 for the Model 3, which has an estimated range of about 220 miles per charge. But until autumn sales will be restricted to a fancier $44,000 version of the car equipped with a larger battery that promises a 310-mile range.

Costly extras make it unlikely that Tesla will ever sell many Model 3s at the starter price. Opting for a color other than black costs an extra $1,000, for example. Fancier wheels cost $1,500. The company’s semiautonomous Autopilot driving system adds another $5,000.

Musk says Tesla will ramp up Model 3 production very slowly through the summer. Consumers who place orders now aren’t likely to receive their cars until the end of next year. The EV maker aims to achieve a monthly output of 20,000 units by the end of this year and 50,000 by the end of 2018. Last year the company sold 76,200 EVs worldwide.

Tesla says the unusually steep production growth rate for production will be possible because the Model 3—unlike Tesla’s pricier Model S ($69,500 sedan and Model X ($82,500 crossover—was designed for relatively easy assembly.