Tesla To Start Test Production Of Model 3 — Just A Few Days Left To Go

Tesla is planning to start a pilot production run of the Model 3 in the coming days. Pilot run expected to test out the assembly system and the quality of vehicle parts.

Published: Thursday, February 9, 2017, 10:50 [IST]

Tesla Motors said on Wednesday it will shut down production at its California assembly plant for a week this month to prepare for production of its high-volume Model 3 sedan.

Tesla Planning To Start Pilot Production Of Model 3 On Feb 20

According to a Reuters report, the American electric carmaker plans to start test production of its smallest electric sedan, the Model 3, at its Fremont, California plant on February 20.

When the Model 3 was unveiled last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told the over 370,000 who booked the car along with his shareholders that Tesla would start production of the smallest car in its lineup in July 2017.

Tesla stated that the planned shutdown of the Fremont assembly plant would allow the company to add capacity to the existing paint shop to prepare it for the high-volume Model 3, and other general maintenance.

Tesla and Musk have a lot riding on the Model 3, which is priced at $35,000 (Rs 23.45 lakh) before government subsidies kick in. If the Model 3 succeeds in bring the Tesla brand to the masses, it would justify Tesla's plans to upgrade its Freemont facility's production capacity to 500,000 cars a year from 2018.