Elon Musk has been busy. Not content with delivering the first 30 Tesla Model 3 vehicles at a launch event on Friday, he’s revealed when consumers can expect to get their hands on a high performance edition of the company latest vehicle, which starts at $35,000 for a basic version.
“Is a Performance version coming at some point for Model 3?” Ryan McCaffrey, an executive editor at IGN, said to Musk over Twitter. “It has not been mentioned since you tweeted about it last year. Please!”
“Probably middle of next year,” Musk responded. “Focus now is on getting out of Model 3 production hell. More versions = deeper in hell.”
The initial real wheel drive models come in two battery configurations. The $44,000 model, which can drive for 310 miles on a single charge and has a top speed of 140 mph, will ship first. That will be followed by the $35,000 model later this year, which runs for 220 miles between charges and has a top speed of 130 mph.
Tesla currently produces one performance edition car: the Model S P100D. Where the standard 100D runs for 335 miles per charge and goes from 0-60 mph in just 4.1 seconds, the P100D achieves that in just 2.5 seconds. The high performance model also includes Ludicrous Mode, which has reached acceleration times of just 2.1 seconds in some instances. In short, the performance model is a beast of a machine.
Although Musk mentioned a performance-grade Model 3 last year, demand is high for initial models, placing the queue further back for adjustments. Over half a million people have placed a $1,000 deposit to reserve their car, and there’s a long queue for newcomers. Right-hand drive markets have an exceptionally long wait on their hands: the U.K. and other countries aren’t expected to receive their orders until 2019.
Musk needs to move fast to avoid the aforementioned “production hell.” Model 3 deliveries are expected to increase exponentially, and the company expects to produce 20,000 vehicles in the month of December. At some point in 2018, production is expected to reach 10,000 per week. Any delays, though, and the performance Model 3 could take longer to reach consumers.
