Tesla Model 3 may be late. Here’s why that matters to CEO Elon Musk

The Wall Street Journal has come out with a new report that says the upcoming Tesla Model 3.

“In an interview with the Journal last month, the CEO talked down his own target. “Do I think production of the Model 3 will start on July 1 of next year?” Mr. Musk asked. “No.”

Now Tesla’s founder-CEO Elon Musk has told BBC that pre-orders of the firm's much-anticipated Model 3 electric car currently stands at a whopping 276,000. While these pre-orders may not necessarily all translate into sales when the car is actually released in late 2017, the numbers do look good on paper.

The California-based firm recently unveiled the five-seater sedan, its lowest-cost vehicle till date. The CEO has said they look forward to producing around 500,000 vehicles a year once production is up and going at full pace. Production is set to begin in late 2017.

Currently, potential customers in several countries, including the UK, Republic of Ireland, Brazil, India, China and New Zealand can book the car with a mere $1,000 deposit. When launched the $35,000 car is expected to be a game changer in the Indian automotive market.

However, all said and done, the firm still posted a net loss of $889 million for 2015. This is primarily because of the hefty $ 718 million it spent on research and development over the period. Currently, Tesla is left with $1.2 billion in place of $ 1.9 billion it had a year earlier.

Given the demand, Musk has tweeted that his company was ‘definitely going to need to rethink production planning’. It’s important that they get the timing just right. The company is facing stiff competition from other electric cars in the similar price range. These cars will also be available first, including General Motors' Chevy Bolt and BYD's Qin EV300.

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