Model 3 launch

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

That goal to produce 600,000 cars (all three models) by next year is ambitious, considering their production was just 100,000 cars in 2016.

Tesla has half a million pre-orders for the brand new Model 3 alone. Excited customers put down $1000 each to get on the wait list, which amounts to a half billion dollars that dropped into Tesla's cash pot last year. But the company spent $2 billion last year getting to this point.

Designed to be the safest car in its class, it has a 15" center touchscreen, 220 miles of range, and 60 mph in 5.1-5.6 seconds. (Go here for specs and a comparison to Model S.)

photo of the clean interior: motortrend.com

Elon Musk says in the launch video that by the end of next year they will also triple the current number of supercharging stations - important customer support.

Tomorrow . . the "Harvard Business School grad who oversaw the launch of the Tesla Model S and the Gigafactory describes what it's like launching a new vehicle at Tesla."