Tesla
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill (R) listens to Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaking during an official ceremony in Adelaide, Australia July 07, 2017 to announce that Tesla will install the world's largest grid-scale battery in the South Australian state. Reuters/AAP/Ben Macmahon

The first completed Tesla Model 3 has finally made its appearance and fans are highly excited about it. The US$35,000 (AU$46,000 approx) electric sedan was first announced by CEO Elon Musk more than a year ago.

Musk recently tweeted about the much-anticipated Model 3, stating that the production unit one of the electric sedan has been built and going through final checkout. Moments later he shared two images of the first production Model 3. They have been shared below. The EV is made for mainstream Tesla consumers. The images bear close resemblance to the car image Musk shared in 2016. Tesla has a massive waiting list, and the vehicle is expected to be delivered to the first 30 people on the wait list.

More than 370,000 units need to be delivered and reservations are mounting up. The automaker has been plagued by production delays in the past. It will be interesting to see whether the company can keep up with the demand and deliver promised units within time. Musk has promised that by December-end, his company will be delivering 20,000 Model 3s a month. The company needs to keep running its factory at top speed if it has to even come close to the numbers promised.

Auto experts are of the opinion that the Tesla Model 3 could jumpstart the spread of electric vehicles, if and only if, Tesla could deliver on its promises, reports The Sydney Morning Herald via The Washington Post. Musk has also recently promised to solve South Australia’s energy issues by building the largest lithium-ion battery in the world. He also added that if his company fails to deliver the battery within 100 days, it will be made free. This battery will be 60 percent bigger than any large-scale battery energy storage system on Earth.

According to Musk, the largest lithium-ion battery in South Australia will create an “initial huge input” of local jobs during the construction phase. However, this could only be temporary as the system is being designed to be self-sustaining. Once the grid interconnection agreement has been signed, Musk’s “100 days or free” pledge will start. Reports suggest that the project could be complete by Dec. 1. The 100MW battery farm could cost anything between $200-240 million.

However, Musk has previously quoted a significantly less amount, estimating the system’s cost to be around $33 million, reports News.com.au. Stay tuned on IBT AU for more updates on Tesla Model 3 production and delivery.

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