Elon Musk just made Tesla history — the Model 3 has officially arrived
Model 3 Blue Driving EMBARGOED DO NOT USE
Model 3 Blue Driving EMBARGOED DO NOT USE

(Tesla's Model 3 has a base range of 220 miles.Tesla)

  • Tesla on Friday delivered Model 3 sedans to its first 30 customers.

  • The base Model 3 can drive 220 miles on a single charge, but the Premium trim boasts a 310-mile range.

  • The Model 3 is Tesla's first mass-market vehicle.

Elon Musk just made Tesla history: the company delivered its first mass-market vehicle, the Model 3.

Musk delivered the first 30 Model 3 sedans at a party on Friday night, kicking off the start of production. The electric automaker will ramp up production to 1,500 sedans a month in September and 20,000 cars in December.

Priced at $35,000, the Model 3 can drive 220 miles on a single charge, accelerate to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, and support Tesla's Autopilot capabilities, like the ability to drive itself in highway traffic and park on its own. It will come in black, midnight silver, deep blue metallic, silver metallic, pearl white multi-coat, and red multi-coat.

Customers can also pay an extra $9,000 for the Premium Model 3, which has a 310-mile range and can accelerate to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds.

The car was revealed in March 2016 and has since racked up an estimated 500,000 pre-orders. The sedan is now sold out until at least mid-2018. The Model 3 joins Tesla's luxury sedan (the Model S) and SUV (the Model X).

What's next

model 3 event
model 3 event

(Tesla unveiled a new Model 3 trim in front of a crowded audience at the company's Fremont factory.Screenshot/Tesla)

Before Friday's big reveal, customers had yet to see a final version of the Model 3 they reserved with a $1,000 deposit over a year ago.

Customers now have a better idea of what will arrive in their driveway.

Tesla announced a Premium Model 3 with a 310-mile range and top speed of 140 mph, which will roll out to customers who pre-ordered the car following Friday's event.

The base model, which has a 220-mile range and top speed of 130 mph, will start shipping out to customers who pre-ordered the sedan this fall.

For new customers, Tesla is only selling Premium Model 3 sedans with rear-wheel drive at the moment.

The Model 3 will come equipped with a new suite of hardware that supports Tesla's second-generation Autopilot system, Enhanced Autopilot.

Enhanced Autopilot will eventually allow the car to match its speed to traffic conditions, automatically change lanes without driver input, merge on and off highways, and park itself.

Those features cost $5,000 at the time of purchase, but standard safety features like collision avoidance and automatic emergency braking are free. Tesla has yet to push out the software update for Enhanced Autopilot, but plans to do so before the year ends.