If the Tesla Model 3 launch party Friday night is anything like the electric automaker’s previous events, it will have plenty of pomp and pageantry, and probably a really great bar and appetizers. Oh and fans, lots of fans.
This one could be even bigger, considering the milestone the company and its CEO Elon Musk will achieve tonight. Of course, the real work, and what shareholders will be watching for, is how production and delivery of Tesla’s mass-market car scales up. And a mighty task it will be. Musk has said the company will produce 500,000 cars per year in 2018; that’s about six times Tesla’s 2016 production.
The Model 3, which will cost $35,000 before federal incentives, is arguably the company’s most important car. When it was first revealed in March 2016, tens of thousands of people placed $1,000 refundable deposits on the car to reserve it. The last the company shared reservation numbers they had reached
But for now, this is the party night and when about 30 people, who are expected to be employees, will be handed their Model 3. And if you weren’t invited, you can still tune in to watch Musk, and likely other executives take the stage. The Model 3 launch event, which is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 p.m. PST, will be livestreamed on the company’s website: Tesla.com.
Fortune will also be there, reporting on what happens before and after the livestream.