Even Elon Musk's mom needs to wait for her Tesla Model 3

Maye Musk is not exploiting her connections.
 By 
Mark Kaufman
 on 
Even Elon Musk's mom needs to wait for her Tesla Model 3
Maye Musk with her son, Tesla CEO Elon Musk Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Half a million people have already plunked down $1,000 to reserve a Tesla Model 3 all-electric sedan. They’re so high in demand, in fact, that even Elon Musk’s mother says she’s nowhere near the front of the list to receive one.

Maye Musk, who at 69 years old just became the latest CoverGirl, told The New York Times that she will patiently wait her turn for Tesla's more affordable, less luxurious offering.

"I haven’t gotten the [Model] 3 yet," she told the Times. "I’m at around 300,000. Even though I have good connections, I can’t jump the line."

The first 30 Tesla Model 3 vehicles rolled onto public streets back in July. All 30 were given to Tesla employees — a wise move for the company, should any electronics or mechanical parts malfunction.

Now, Tesla is on the hook to massively ramp up production of the cars, which start at $35,000. The general production plan lacks any true statistics, but is depicted blow.

"The major challenge for us over the six to nine months is how do we build a huge number of cars," Musk said at the July Model 3 launch event, as reported by CNBC. "Frankly, we're going to be in production hell."

In July, Musk tweeted that Tesla should produce "above 1,500" cars by the end of September. This number, according to Musk, will inflate to 20,000 vehicles by December.

If Tesla boosts this production up to 30,000 vehicles per month by early next year, Maye Musk should receive her Model 3 around November 2018. It's going to be a long year for everyone waiting, but hopefully those who reserved the vehicle are comforted by the fact that even Elon's mom has to wait to receive her reserved vehicle.

Mashable Image
Mark Kaufman
Science Editor

Mark was the science editor at Mashable. After working as a ranger with the National Park Service, he started a reporting career after seeing the extraordinary value in educating people about the happenings on Earth, and beyond.

He's descended 2,500 feet into the ocean depths in search of the sixgill shark, ventured into the halls of top R&D laboratories, and interviewed some of the most fascinating scientists in the world.

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