When Tesla took the automotive world by storm with the Model S, people took notice. With the advent of the Model X, a handful of automakers started getting off their asses. The Tesla Model 3, however, convinced automakers that pure electric is the way to go despite the fact that the production car isn’t ready just yet.
Within a week of its unveiling on March 31, Tesla Motors had taken a mind-boggling 325,000 pre-orders on the darn thing. Naturally, this incredible demand for the Model 3 is what spurred other automakers to lay down their stubbornness and go with the flow.
The design of the manufacturing tooling should be finalized by the end of June. That’s only three months since the Phase 1 prototype was shown to the public. In addition to this, “almost all of the Model 3 design is done, and we're aiming for pencils down basically in six weeks,” if everything goes according to plan.
Is Elon Musk playing hooky with us or is he alien? Hell knows, to be honest. The pre-production prototype spied in Palo Alto, California, looks exactly like the Phase 1 prototype, so what are we talking about here? Do bear in mind that Musk promised that the Phase 2 prototype, “which takes things to another level, will be closer to production.” With nine days left to go in the month of June, Phase 2 is nowhere in sight.
Nevertheless, it’s reassuring to see a matte black pre-production prototype do its thing on the public roads of the Bay Area, red paint calipers and touchscreen included. If you watch the following video with utmost attention, you’ll spot two Model S sedans escorting the Model 3. Eagled-eyed readers will also spot that the rubber sealing on the front passenger door is out. All in all, this is certainly not a finished product.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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