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Tesla delivers first 30 Model 3 sedans at unveiling ceremony

By Daniel Uria
Tesla delivered 30 new Model 3 cars to a select group of employees at an unveiling ceremony on Saturday. CEO Elon Musk said more than half a million people had reserved the car which will officially go on sale soon.
 Photo by EPA
Tesla delivered 30 new Model 3 cars to a select group of employees at an unveiling ceremony on Saturday. CEO Elon Musk said more than half a million people had reserved the car which will officially go on sale soon. Photo by EPA

July 29 (UPI) -- Tesla Motors Inc. unveiled its $35,000 Model 3 sedan and delivered 30 of the vehicles to employees on Friday night.

During a ceremony at the U.S. automaker's manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., Tesla CEO Elon Musk presented the new, more affordable electric cars to a group of 30 employees selected to be the first owners.

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"This is a great day for Tesla," Musk said. "It was never our goal just to make expensive cars. We wanted to make cars everyone could buy."

Musk added that Tesla has received a net number of more than half a million reservations from prospective buyers, who paid a $1,000 deposit on the new model. If those reservations become actual sales, the Model 3 will be among the best-selling vehicles in the United States.

He said the Model 3 would officially go on sale soon.

The Model 3 features a more minimalist design than the company's other cars to ease production, but Musk still anticipates a grueling amount of work to fill the thousands of orders already made.

"We are going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell," he said.

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Overall, Tesla plans to more than quadruple its annual production rate, to 500,000 vehicles, by 2018.

The first run of Model 3s to go on sale will feature a standard battery pack that can drive for 220 miles on a single charge and is capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds.

Tesla also plans to offer a long-range version of the Model 3 with a larger battery that can travel 310 miles and is capable of higher speeds.

The company also said the Model 3 will be equipped with the hardware necessary for full self-driving capability and expects the car will be capable of driving itself through updates as self-driving technology improves.

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