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Tesla Model 3: tens of thousands reportedly reserving the $35,000 car without having seen it

We were confident that Tesla’s reservation process would be fairly successful, especially in the US due to federal tax credit cap, but this morning we are blown away by the enthusiasm for a vehicle no one has seen yet.

If you have been following our live updates of the queues at Tesla retail locations this morning, you know that over 13,000 16,000 have been spotted waiting in line to reserve the Model 3 in the US and Canada alone.

Some of the biggest lines – just to name a few:

  • Montreal
  • Toronto
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • Austin
  • Dallas
  • San Diego

Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented via Twitter that he is “incredibly inspired” by the interest:

[tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715566236822671360 align=’center’]

We received reports of similar numbers in Asia and Europe leading us to believe that the number of people willing to place a ~$1,000 deposit even before having seen the Model 3 is in the tens of thousands.

And that’s without accounting for Tesla and SpaceX employees who were able to reserve the vehicle early.

Granted, the deposit is completely refundable so it’s not that big of a risk, but still…

Tesla will likely be sitting on a significant backlog of Model 3 reservations even before Elon Musk walks on stage to unveil it in Hawthorn tonight at 8:30pm Pacific (3:30 UTC). At which point online reservations become available (tesla.com).

If you want to reserve the Model 3, Tesla revealed all the reservation process details per region and here’s everything we know about the vehicle, as well as our exclusive Tesla Model 3 leaked specs.

You can also join us later today for our coverage of the event and livestream at 8:30pm Pacific (3:30 UTC).

Featured Image: between 250 and 300 people waiting to reserve the Model 3 in Mt. Kisco by Seth Weintraub

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Comments

  1. Nick - 8 years ago

    Tesla secret master plan is on track for success! Pending any major screw ups on the model 3 of course. Glad to be a part of a generation that sees the advent of sustainable transport.

  2. Duc - 8 years ago

    When I put down my deposit at the Tysons Corner store in VA, I had the option of putting down a deposit for 2 cars, not just 1. Came at 10am, there were over 200 people ahead of me; the wait was exactly an hour. The registration process was simple: name, address, phone, email, and credit card #. It was web based; probably same for the public tonight.

    • Alex - 8 years ago

      did you get a confirmation email after your reservation? i made my mine earlier today in Chicago. And was wondering if we are supposed to be getting emails

      • Duc - 8 years ago

        I haven’t received any email confirmation yet. I should have asked when I put down my deposit.

      • Fred Lambert - 8 years ago

        You can check your mytesla account on teslamotors.com

      • jpwhitehome - 8 years ago

        I was told 24 hours to get a confirmation email. I got a text from my Credit Card company withing seconds of clicking the red reserve button. They have my money at least, should receive an email before too long.

      • Dafty Punk - 8 years ago

        I didn’t get an email, and mytesla shows no change compared to yesterday, but I do have a pending charge on my credit card from Tesla so….

  3. Stephen Davies - 8 years ago

    So the hype is working then?
    It is an awful lot of money to put down on something that no one has seen or reviewed.
    I have a 100 acres of Arizona Ocean Front property for sale. any takers?

    • Alex - 8 years ago

      have seen both the model S and the X. track record has been convincing. haters gonna hate.

    • James Rowland - 8 years ago

      The “hype” is based largely on actual experience of the Model S. Tesla has only to make a smaller, cheaper version of what they’ve already made for this to be worthwhile.

    • Dafty Punk - 8 years ago

      Given typical Tesla delays and sea level rise thanks to global warming, that property might actually be ocean front by the time the 3 ships! ZING!

      /humor

      • Alex - 8 years ago

        🙏🏻🙌🏻💯🔑

  4. Matth - 8 years ago

    Well, if I didn’t have to work, or had a Tesla store close to me I would have loved to get in line to reserve one too and have a bigger shot at the $7500 tax credit. However I do have to work to earn the money to buy this car so I have to wait for online reservations, with the risk of loosing the $7500 tax credit. I think this system rolled out today is not really fair for people who either have to work for their money and/or live far away from a Tesla store.

    • Alex - 8 years ago

      you make it sound like a bunch of royalty were standing in line. plenty of people i spoke to took a day of leave from work in advance. and for quite a few of them a $1000 deposit was a lofty price to pay blindly. it’s fair because sacrifices were made by those who really wanted it.

    • Nathanael - 8 years ago

      If you get your online order in when orders open at 7:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time, I’m pretty sure you can get the $7500 tax credit. When Tesla ships car #200,000 in the US, every remaining car shipped that quarter *and* the next quarter gets the $7500 tax credit. I think Tesla has reached the sustainable run rate for Model S and that Model X will be about the same. I believe Tesla won’t hit 200,000 until Q1 of 2018 (possibly not until Q2 of 2018), and if you get your reservation in today online you can probably get a car before Q3.

      If your income is too low you wan’t be able to use the whole tax credit anyway. The tax credit is in effect at 1/2 the size for two more quarters, so it’ll be easy to get that.

  5. freeform1999 - 8 years ago

    400+++ were in line at burbank ca store

  6. Hermelyn - 8 years ago

    I want one but can’t commit site unseen

    • jpwhitehome - 8 years ago

      It isn’t a commitment. You are reserving a place in line. If you opt to not purchase once more details of the car are available, you cancel and get your money back.

  7. Nathanael - 8 years ago

    The Asian line numbers actually seem a lot smaller, if I can judge by Japan and Australia. (And I’ve seen no reports from China.)

    Still, the Europe and North America lines are *enormous*.

  8. Joshua Santos - 8 years ago

    You didn’t mention the store which may have had the longest line, San Jose (Santana Row store). There were about 1,000 people in line. After making it to the front around 1pm, there were still hundreds and hundreds of people in line.

  9. Cass Howorth - 8 years ago

    same here. didn’t get an email but did log onto my bank and also saw the deposit has been charged to my VISA. It states….
    Mar 31, 2016 TESLA MOTORS DEPOSIT 650-681-5000 ON $1,000.00

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