OREANDA-NEWS. April 05, 2016. That translated to 276,000 reservations, with potential buyers plunking down \\$1,000 each, by the end of Saturday. It turns out people can't wait to get their hands on Tesla's first attempt at an affordable electric car. But they will have a wait. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2017 and the vehicle is expected to cost at least \\$35,000. The preorder numbers so far work out to almost \\$10 billion worth of sales, assuming all those people buy one. With extra features, the average cost of a Model 3 could be \\$42,000, the company estimates.

Tesla has been at the forefront of redefining how electric vehicles are perceived, but up until now its cars have been priced far beyond what most people can afford (starting at around \\$70,000). The Model 3, though not exactly cheap, will help the company appeal to a new group of customers, who for the first time may find one of the sleek electric vehicles within their price range.

The real challenge for Tesla now will be delivering when it says it will. The company was three years late bringing its Model X car to market. Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted Friday that he will have to "rethink production planning" in light of demand for the Model 3.