Elon Musk shows off the first Model 3 to roll out the production line

Tesla's mass-market EV, the Tesla Model 3, is now officially here. Elon Musk himself released a series of tweets last night to officially present the first production model of the vehicle that is aimed at mid to high-end consumers. The mass market EV is a big deal for the company as it will herald its arrival into the mainstream market after having exclusively catered to the luxury car crowd.

Proud owner

In his initial tweet, Musk revealed that the first Model 3 has now been completed and it is undergoing final checkout. He then followed this up with actual photos of the vehicle, including one with a monochrome filter and a second full-color photo. It was also revealed that the owner of unit number one will be Musk himself. The car was supposed to go to venture capitalist Ira Ehrenpreis, who was the first to place a full deposit on the vehicle. However, he apparently gave up those rights and gave the vehicle to Musk as his 46th birthday present. Musk currently owns the very first Tesla Roadster and the first Model X.

A very big deal

Tesla's very future actually lies heavily on the success of the Model 3.There is already a staggering amount of pre-orders for the vehicle and Tesla has yet to show that it can fill out all of them in time. The company has not really been hitting its deadlines as of late, but it is resilient enough to eventually hit those milestones. Investor confidence is also evidence of this trust in the electric vehicle manufacturer. The company officially made the list of the Fortune 500 this year, and it is only expected to climb even higher with the eventual public release of the Model 3.

Production goals

Now that production is going full steam ahead, the company hopes to produce at least 5,000 Model 3 sedans per week by the end of the year and 10,000 per week going into 2018.

Most of the vehicles that will be produced will be going to pre-order customers, starting with those who made their reservations early last year. Other customers will likely not be able to get their hands on a unit until 2018.

Given the delay in the release of the vehicle, some customers have expressed their concern regarding the possible changes that were made to the vehicle. However, Musk assured them that there shouldn't really be any dramatic changes to the finished product when compared to the original prototypes that were showcased last year. The $35,000 electric vehicle is still expected to sport an impressive 215-mile range per charge and based on the photos, there apparently isn't any exterior design changes either.