Aussies kick off Tesla Model 3 reservations

Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 has gone ‘on sale’ and hundreds of Australians have taken advantage of an 18-hour head start on the rest of the world.

Aussies wishing to place reservations to purchase the all-new mid-size electric sedan were queuing outside Tesla’s outlets in Sydney and Melbourne this morning. And once the doors were opened at 8:30am the cash registers were ringing with the $1500 ‘placeholders’.

Australia opened the pre-order process for the world. US buyers will not be able to place orders in the company’s Stateside stores until their doors open 8:30am March 31, US time – this evening our time.

So far the Model 3 has not been seen by the world. The first official view of the car will take place at 2:30pm tomorrow (Friday, April 1) Australian time, when Tesla founder Elon Musk reveals the car in the USA. The livestream of the reveal is expected to attract a global audience in excess of 10 million, some sources claim.

Australian Tesla marketing boss Heath Walker told motoring.com.au the first local customers were “camped out” at Tesla’s St Leonards (NSW) store over 48 hours before the start of reservations.

“In Melbourne, we had people queuing before 6:00pm last night,” he said.

Walker says “just under 100 customers” were on hand to place their $1500 reservations at the company’s Richmond (Vic) HQ this morning. The number was “just over 100” in Sydney, he said.

“It’s pretty unusual to see a queue outside a car dealership. Even more so given the car is unseen and the price hasn’t been announced,” Walker enthused.

Tesla’s reservation system gives the purchaser a spot in the global production queue. With both the Model S and Model X, it also allowed early adopters to purchase a ‘Signature Edition’ of the vehicle. Signatures featured unique equipment and colours.

It’s unsure whether the Model 3 will offer that opportunity.

“The roll out will probably be slightly different [from Model S and X] because of the scale of production,” Walker stated.

No local pricing has been announced for the car, nor specification details. In the US, before incentives and subsidies, Model 3 will be priced from $US35,000.

“The $1500 is a reservation and is fully refundable. Our Australia customers will have their order details confirmed closer to production,” Walker stated.

Reservations can be placed in store until the car’s online unveiling tomorrow. After that point all reservations will be via Tesla’s normal channels online, Walker stated.