The Tribune

The first Tesla Model 3 electric car for the masses should come off the assembly line on Friday with the first deliveries in late July, the company’s CEO says.

CEO Elon Musk, in several Twitter messages early Monday, says the new car passed all government regulatory requirements for production to begin two weeks ahead of schedule. The company plans to hold a party to hand over the first 30 Model 3s to customers on July 28, Musk wrote in a tweet.

The Model 3 is to start around $35,000 and with a $7,500 federal electric car tax credit, could cost $27,500. Tesla says the five-seat car will be able to go 215 miles on a single charge and will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in under six seconds. Musk tweeted that the company expects to produce 100 cars in August and more than 1,500 in September. “Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in December,” he wrote.

That figure is less than previous estimates. Musk earlier had said Tesla would make 10,000 Model 3s per week by December.

Associated Press