Just because Tesla's received almost 200,000 Model 3 orders doesn't mean it'll sell them all

Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on Twitter Friday, less than a day after the launch of his company's new car, proudly proclaiming how the company had so far raked in 198,000 Model 3 pre-orders.

Impressive, yes, but let's not forget those free refunds Tesla promised everyone.

Before anyone had even seen the car, Tesla received 115,000 order deposits.

To reserve a Model 3, you have to let Tesla hold $1,000, but you're promised a free refund and you're allowed to back out whenever you want. It's not a bad deal, but this all leads us to wonder.

Model 3s likely won't be delivered until 2018. How many of those 198,000 people are going to actually be able to wait two years for this car? I surely don't have that kind of patience.

And this tweet from Musk makes it all the less promising. 

It's also curious that Musk bragged about bringing in billions in revenue in one day, when the company actually only took $1,000 for each reservation:

Tech Insider contacted Tesla for comment.