Tesla is officially letting all of the Tesla Model 3 reservation holders place their actual order now. While the initial reservation required a $1,000 deposit, the next step requires that each person fork over another $2,500 to place the order for their Model 3.
It may seem like Tesla is gaming the numbers, since if all the 400k+ reservation holders were to place their actual order, Tesla would instantly bring in at least $1 billion in revenue. This new cash flow could help improve Tesla’s revenue numbers just as the second quarter of 2018 draws to a close. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised that the company will soon be profitable, but that won’t happen until later this year.
While it may seem a bit odd that Model 3 buyers have to give over another $2,500 before they even get to see their cars, it’s not out of the ordinary for Tesla. Tesla requires the same $2,500 deposit for all three of its vehicles and it is refundable as long as you cancel within three days.
Once a reservation holder places their order, Tesla estimates that their specific Model 3 will arrive in about “2-4 months,” although that estimate could change based on how the options chosen for the Model 3. Tesla has been pushing hard to reach its production goal of 5,000 vehicles a week, but it hasn’t quite reached it yet, since Bloomberg estimates that only 3,400 Model 3 sedans are rolling out of Fremont each week.
Source: The Detroit News