Tesla CEO Elon Musk reports that pre-orders for the Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) were up to twice as high as the company had projected. The e-car maker has already received over a quarter of a million early orders for its all-electric car that is scheduled to start production runs next year. Musk expected about 30 people to line up at Tesla dealerships to buy the affordable EV, but at some stores hundreds of people lined up and camped out.
The company's CEO tweeted that within 36 hours the American automaker had received over 276,000 Model 3 pre-orders. That is worth about $10 billion when factoring in an average price of $42,000 per car.
Tesla has plans to give a special reward to the people who lined up at physical stores to pre-order their Model 3 EV with a $1,000 deposit, according to Engadget. Musk had expected about one-quarter to one-half of the people who showed up at Tesla stores.
Tesla is certainly pleased about the colossal interest in its new EV, but there are a few big questions. They include how much extra time the company will need to fill all the orders. Another question mark is if demand will slow down when the $7,500 EV tax credit expires after 200,000 qualifying customers use it.
Analysts predict that Musk's company might have to raise more funds to deliver its new electric car on schedule, according to Digital Trends. The car is scheduled to start production next year, and some deliveries could be later due to the sky-high demand.
In February Tesla's stocks dropped to an all-time low. However, since then it has bounced back 60 percent greatly due to its new green car that follows the Model S and Model X.
Barclays analyst Brian Johnson thinks that due to the success of Model 3 preorders the company might offer new stock shares to the public by the end of this year. That is due to its raking in about $10.6 billion in 36 hours.
However, experts also point out that the Model X SUV crossover was rolled out at a fairly slow pace. It is possible some customers who pre-ordered Model 3 units might not get their shiny new cars until 2020.
Here's a Model 3 test ride: