Tesla Rolls Out Its First Production Model 3

For once, it seems that Elon Musk has managed to meet a deadline he's set. The long-awaited Tesla Model 3 has finally had its first production unit roll off the assembly line, marking the beginning of deliveries for this "mass-market" electric car. Naturally Tesla fans are excited, given that the Model 3 has the potential to slingshot the company towards actually making a profit (Tesla has been operating at a loss for the last 15 years). 

Despite meeting this major milestone, things aren't looking too good for Tesla. Reports from Forbes and Bloomberg show that these first 30 units or so of the Model 3 are being hand built, which speaks for Tesla's inability to mass produce the Model 3. Despite this, Elon Musk is confident that he will hit a Model 3 production volume of 20,000 units a month by the end of this year. It is a little worrying that Tesla has done little-to-no real world testing of the Model 3, but having their customer base function as a beta testing pool has been a fairly common procedure with Tesla. 

While Tesla has seen a 53% increase in deliveries last quarter compared to 2016, their share price has taken a massive hit in the past week as well, falling roughly 20%. Some analysts believe that this is only a temporary setback for the company as their value has gone up by 40% through this year. Other major investors also regard the Model 3 to be the automotive equivalent of Apple's iPhone, marking a large shift in technology and standards for the automotive industry. Whether Elon Musk and the Model 3 can deliver on these promises remains to be seen.