Tesla Model 3 receives European homologation as first batch is on its way

Tesla has now received European homologation for Model 3 – enabling the automaker to deliver the new electric car in European markets as the first batch of vehicles is on its way.

RDW, the Dutch regulator and European authority used by Tesla to approve its vehicles for European roads, has confirmed that Model 3 is now homologated for Europe.

The timing couldn’t be better because thousands of Model 3 vehicles are currently on a ship to Europe.

As we reported just over a week ago, a massive Tesla Model 3 shipment was spotted being gathered at the San Francisco port before being loaded inside a cargo ship.

Many Tesla Model 3 reservation holders in Europe have been waiting for the vehicle for years and they are understandably excited.

They have been tracking the vessel that is bringing their vehicles and it was spotted about to enter the Panama canal yesterday.

The cargo ship is expected to arrive at the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium within the next 2 weeks – late on February 2 to be precise.

As we previously reported, the port company that handles vehicle unloading in Zeebrugge plans to handle 3,000 Model 3’s per week coming to Europe starting next month.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is even considering letting buyers pick up their cars directly at the port:

Thanks, good idea!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 18, 2019

Though it’s unclear if the company could actually do that since it could be a concern with the port authority.

As we previously reported, Tesla received almost 14,000 Model 3 orders in Europe as of earlier this month. That’s only from reservation holders and the number is expected to grow since Tesla has now opened Model 3 orders to the public in Europe and China.

In those markets, Tesla is currently only taking orders for the Model 3 Performance version and Dual Motor AWD version, which happen to be the most expensive versions of the vehicle.