Tesla Model 3 Orders: On Pace to Hit 500,000 Before Part 2 Reveal: CEO

After revealing the new Tesla Model 3 last week, CEO Elon Musk has continued to take to Twitter to respond to customers and release more details about the new car, which will be priced at $35,000 USD (Tesla told us no International pricing has been revealed yet).

On Friday, Musk revealed 198,000 people had already put down $1,000 deposits for the Model 3, which isn’t slated to be released until late next year, at the earliest.

Yesterday, the CEO tweeted Model 3 orders have hit 276,000 in just three days. In response to a customer, Musk confirmed “if the trend continues”, pre-orders will surpass 500,000, even before the company’s Part 2 reveal of the vehicle, which is still to-be-announced.

@mindthreat @RyanHummer Yes, if the trend continues, before

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2016

As for other new Tesla Model 3 details, according to Musk and his “impromptu AMA” on Twitter, check them out below:

• “Matte black was surprisingly popular. Probably makes sense to bring it to production.”
• “There will be an optional tow hitch.”
• “A Model 3 order gives you priority in your geography, so, even tho total count is high, ordering early will make a big difference locally.”
• As for criticism of the lack of dashboard/HUD (heads-up display), Musk replied “It will make sense after part 2 of the Model 3 unveil.”
• The back seats will fold down, possible for sleeping. “Will be great for road trips and camping.”
• “Model 3 will be RWD, with dual motor AWD optional. Even RWD will have great traction on ice due to fast torque response of Tesla drivetrain.”

And, of course, it will have more cowbells.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2016

People worldwide are going crazy for the Model 3, including Canadians such as Nik Jovanovic, who was the first in Toronto to place his order, waiting overnight in line to do so.

First model three order in Toronto Ontario Canada! #Model3 @elonmusk @TeslaMotors pic.twitter.com/aXpOIRP5WV

— Nik Jovanovic (@jovanik21) March 31, 2016

Musk previously stated Apple’s vehicle plans are “obvious” in Silicon Valley, as both companies have poached employees from each other.

Back in February, when asked about the rumours of Apple working on an electric car, CEO Tim Cook responded with the following:

Part of exploring technologies and picking the right one is becoming so familiar with it you can see ways that it can be used. And for us, we’ve never been about being first. We’ve been about being best. So we explore many different things, many different technologies. And at first we might not know what product it might wind up in. And then later we’ll see that that really cool technology enables maybe things that we’re doing today to take on something bigger, maybe something new. But once we start spending gobs of money—like when we start spending on tooling and things like that—we’re committed.

During the company’s annual shareholder meeting in late February, Cook also said “it’s going to be Christmas Eve for a while,” when asked about Apple Car.

As for a Canadian link to the rumoured Apple Car? Apple has reportedly leased a 22,000 square foot space in Kanata—next door to QNX, the automotive arm of BlackBerry—in what many suspect may be for R&D purposes.

Tesla’s Autopilot features such as ‘Summon’, allow iPhone and Apple Watch users to control their vehicle remotely, to do things such as open garage doors and back out into driveways on its own.

Are you awaiting your Model 3, or will you be holding out for ‘Apple Car’? The excitement over the ‘affordable’ Model 3 brings us back to the anticipation of the original iPhone in 2007.