• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Tesla’s Elon Musk reveals when customers can pre-order the cheaper Model 3

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 2, 2015, 6:17 PM ET
The Tesla Gigafactory is shown under construction outside Reno, Nevada
Construction of the Tesla Gigafactory outside Reno, Nevada is shown February 18, 2015. Once known primarily for its casinos and quickie divorces, the Reno area has made impressive strides in its attempt to transform itself into a technology hub in the high-desert of Nevada. In the last few years, it has attracted big Silicon Valley names, including Tesla, Apple and Amazon. But now a new challenge has arisen for Reno: managing its success. Even as the region celebrates its economic wins, it is struggling to cope with the additional demands that the new businesses -- and the new residents they draw -- will place on Reno?s infrastructure, schools, and city services. To match Insight USA-RENO/TECH Picture taken February 18, 2015. REUTERS/James Glover II (UNITED STATES - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS SOCIETY) - RTR4R9MNPhotograph by James Glover — Reuters

The Model 3, the lower cost all-electric car that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has mentioned in interviews and shareholder letters, isn’t expected to be in full production for a couple more years. The public doesn’t even know what this car will look like.

But according to the latest tweets by Musk, customers will be able to start pre-ordering the $35,000 vehicle in March.

In other words, you won’t have to be Oprah to own a Tesla.

Musk has used Twitter in the past to tease future products, debunk claims about Tesla products, and even his management style. His latest string of tweets offers a few tidbits on the Model X sport utility vehicle as well the Model 3, an electric car that’s supposed to be half the price of the luxury Model S.

To be clear, not everything in these tweets is new. In a second quarter letter to shareholders, Musk said Tesla (TSLA) planned to reveal the Model 3 design in early 2016 with deliveries expected in late 2017.

And the $35,000 price has been batted around before, although unofficially. A timeline for pre-ordering a Model 3—albeit a seemingly tentative and vague one—is new.

@elonmusk $35k price, unveil in March, preorders start then.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2015

Of course, before the Model 3 can be produced, the company must be able to make a cheaper lithium-ion battery to put into the car. The electric automaker is building a $5 billion factory outside of Reno that it has said is designed with enough capacity to reduce the per-kilowatt-hour cost of its lithium-ion battery packs by over 30%. The factory is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2017.

Also on Wednesday, Musk dropped another date, this time for the first deliveries of the highly anticipated Model X sports utility vehicle. Deliveries of those will begin September 29.

First production cars will be handed over on Sept 29 at our Fremont factory

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2015

For more about Tesla, watch this Fortune video:

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Travel & Leisure
After pouring $450 million into Florida real estate, Larry Ellison plans to lure the ultrarich to an exclusive town just minutes from Mar-a-Lago
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Mitt Romney says the U.S. is on a cliff—and taxing the rich is now necessary 'given the magnitude of our national debt'
By Dave SmithDecember 22, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Meet a 55-year-old automotive technician in Arkansas who didn’t care if his kids went to college: ‘There are options’
By Muskaan ArshadDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Multimillionaire musician Will.i.am says work-life balance is for people ‘working on someone else’s dream’ and not for visionaries—he grinds from 5-to-9 after his 9-to-5
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 21, 2025
2 days ago

Latest in Tech

AIEye on AI
Silicon Valley’s tone-deaf take on the AI backlash will matter in 2026
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 23, 2025
3 hours ago
Young rich woman in front of plane
SuccessBillionaires
There are more self-made billionaires under 30 than ever before—11 of them have made the ultra-wealthy club in the last 3 months thanks to AI
By Emma BurleighDecember 23, 2025
5 hours ago
ChatGPT Atlas illustration.
AISecurity
OpenAI says prompt injections that can trick AI browsers like ChatGPT Atlas may never be fully ‘solved’—experts say risks are ‘a feature not a bug’
By Beatrice NolanDecember 23, 2025
5 hours ago
SuccessSmall Business
10 crucial insights for small business owners to succeed in 2026—and beyond
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
6 hours ago
Photo of Sam Altman
SuccessCareers
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman says in 10 years’ time college graduates will be working ‘some completely new, exciting, super well-paid’ job in space
By Preston ForeDecember 23, 2025
7 hours ago
Kurian
AIGoogle
Google Cloud chief reveals the long game: a decade of silicon and the energy battle behind the AI boom
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 23, 2025
7 hours ago