Analyst Says Tesla Model 3 Deliveries Won't Start Until Late 2018

According to some, Elon Musk has a habit of overpromising and underdelivering or, at the very least, delivering late. One respected Tesla analyst believes this could be the case with the upcoming Model 3.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jones predicts that deliveries of the entry-level Model 3 won’t commence until the end of 2018, over 1 year later than Musk expects the first deliveries to commence.

Tesla says that production of the Model 3 will commence in mid-2017 but if Jones is correct, that date will be pushed back well into 2018.

Additionally, the analyst says that the electric automaker will be producing around 60,000 Model 3s in 2019 and 130,000 units in 2020, well below Tesla’s objective of building 400,000 units in 2018, reports Electrek.

If these reports are accurate it means that some of the 400,000-odd Model 3 reservation holders could be waiting until 2021 or even 2022 to receive their cars, some six years after placing their orders.

A delayed launch of the Model 3 could hurt the company by giving the Chevrolet Bolt a greater head-start in the affordable EV market. It would also reduce Tesla’s advantage over large automakers like Volkswagen who will launch droves of electric models early next decade.