Australia will be the first country able to order the Tesla Model 3
Australian Tesla fans should give thanks for the international date line. As Aussies live slightly in the future, they'll have the chance to be the first in the world to preorder Tesla's more affordable electric vehicle offering, the Model 3.
If you line up at one of Tesla's Australian outlets during regular store hours on March 31, you can make a Model 3 reservation for A$1,500, a Tesla spokesperson advised in an emailed statement. In-store preorder will open globally as the date ticks over to March 31.
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Preorders will open online worldwide at 2:30 p.m. AEDT on April 1, which is when the official live unveil event begins (8.30 p.m. PT on Mar. 31). The amount of international reservation deposits are also available on Tesla's website.
Full car specs and pricing are yet to be announced, so thankfully, the reservation amount is fully refundable if you want to back out of your purchase.
According to Tesla's blog, current owners will get preference in each regional queue for the Model 3. "The fastest way to buy a Model 3 is to buy a Model S or Model X," it advised. That means you'll need to buy a very, very expensive car to own a cheaper one, which doesn't seem like the best way to go about this.
While eager Tesla owners can order the Model 3 in just over one week, remember the car likely won't be delivered until late 2017, at the earliest. On its blog, Tesla explained that delivery will begin on the U.S. West Coast before expanding into the rest of the U.S., and then Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
Order now, Aussies, but be prepared to wait. Given right-hand drive markets are being prioritised, a late 2018 delivery date is just being realistic.
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Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.
