Tesla Model 3 Orders Balloon To 200K, Elon Musk Forecasts $42K Average Selling Price

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to give some updates on the status of Model 3 preorders, and the numbers are quite staggering. According to Musk, 198,000 reservations had been placed as of 1PM EST today. Given that it’s close to 9PM EST now, it’s fair to say that orders have probably now topped 200,000.

And we have to remember that each one of those potential customers has handed over $1,000, and will be waiting a minimum of 18 months before they take delivery of their Model 3 EV. Even more impressive is that many of these customers waited in lines for hours outside Tesla stores and placed orders for the Model 3 before it was even revealed to the public – that shows some pretty strong confidence in the company.

Thought it would slow way down today, but Model 3 order count is now at 198k. Recommend ordering soon, as the wait time is growing rapidly.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2016

Musk was definitely hopeful that the Model 3 would resonate with a global audience, but the tremendous response has the billionaire rethinking his strategy:

Definitely going to need to rethink production planning...

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2016

Earlier in the day, Musk even gave us some projections on what the average selling price for the Model 3 will be, and it definitely isn’t the $35,000 base figure that had everyone all giddy with excitement:

Model 3 orders at 180,000 in 24 hours. Selling price w avg option mix prob $42k, so ~$7.5B in a day. Future of electric cars looking bright!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2016

The Model 3 seats five passengers, has a minimalist interior dominated by a centrally-mounted touch screen display, and stands out from the crowd with a one-piece glass roof that extends from the top of the windshield all the way back to the rear trunk lid. Speaking of trunks, you’ll find a capacious one in the back and a smaller one up front.

The base Model 3, which features a single, rear-mounted electric motor and rear-wheel drive (obviously) can travel over 215 miles on a charge and can reach 60 mph from a standstill in under 6 seconds. However, there will be higher-performing variants up the food chain will larger battery packs and dual motors (giving the Model 3 all-wheel drive capabilities found in the Model S).