Tesla’s Model 3: Slowest. Rollout. Ever.
Tesla Inc. charging stations wait to be unwrapped at the Hartshead Moor service station off the M62 motorway near Bradford, U.K., on Oct. 5, 2017.
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg
When Elon Musk first unveiled the Tesla Model 3 sedan in March 2016, consumers stood in long lines at showrooms to place $1,000 deposits, giving Musk an iPhone moment unprecedented in the auto industry. When people stand in line at an Apple Store, they typically walk away with a new phone; the all-electric Model 3 had yet to be built.
Overwhelming demand inspired Musk to announce in a May 2016 letter to shareholders that he was advancing Tesla Inc.’s production plans by two years: It would build a total of half a million cars annually by the end of 2018, rather than 2020—a fivefold production boost in just two years. For Tesla, which had no experience manufacturing cars in high volume, the already steep production learning curve suddenly looked like a hockey stick. “We are hellbent on becoming the best manufacturer on Earth,” Musk said during its May 4, 2016, earnings call. When asked how many Model 3 sedans Tesla expected to make,Musk said “100,000 to 200,000” in the second half of 2017.