Tesla's Model 3 rolls off the production line as Musk admits company faces production challenge

Elon Musk, boss of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), has admitted the company faces “at least six months of manufacturing hell” to meet demand for its Model 3.

Musk handed over the first Model 3 off the production line to a Tesla employee buyer on Friday outside Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California.

Priced at US$35,000 for the most basic model, the company has more than half a million orders for the car, which has a range of 220 miles on a single charge (dearer versions will have a longer range of up to 310 miles).

Musk told journalists the company faced “quite a challenge” to meet demand. Musk says Tesla expects to build around 5,000 Model 3s a week this year.

The company has pledged to produce 500,000 of the vehicles next year, which would be almost six times the number it produced last year.

That…is a lot of Model 3s. #TeslaModel3 pic.twitter.com/1HzxaEwiF0

— Austin Evans (@austinnotduncan) July 29, 2017

It would catapult the company from a niche producer of expensive luxury cars into a mass-market producer.

Having said that, Tesla customers can buy an expensive version of the Model 3 if they wish. Additional features could push the price up to US$60,000, and that’s before taxes and other fees. Those additional features include self-driving hardware and enhanced autopilot software.

“Every Tesla sold right now has the hardware for full autonomy,” Musk said.

Further down the road, if you’ll forgive the pun, there is the possibility for owners to upgrade the car’s kit to include self-driving hardware and 

Story by ProactiveInvestors