Tesla's been in 'production hell,' but it finally hit 100,000 Model 3s sold -- and in record time
Tesla is catching up.
The electric car maker has been long struggling to keep up with car orders for its newest electric sedan, the Model 3, but this week it hit a major milestone: 100,000 of the cars produced.
That number came in after barely a year and a half after Tesla started producing the car. Its sedan Model S and SUV Model X didn't come close to that type of production number in that amount of time.
The achievement comes after a rough "production hell" year with Tesla missing its goals and hitting several roadblocks. Tesla overall pretty much caught up to Mercedes-Benz in third-quarter sales, according to MarketWatch. That's 64,727 Teslas sold compared to 66,542 Mercedes vehicles. Tesla has its Model X and Model S, along with the more affordable Model 3.
The boost in Tesla orders comes before the Monday cut-off for a hefty federal tax credit. Car orders made by Monday are eligible for $7,500 refund, while anyone buying a Tesla afterward can get $3,750. Then after mid-2019 the credit shrinks to $1,875 before disappearing entirely.
Delivering all these vehicles is another story and something even CEO Elon Musk has apologized about.
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Another notable achievement this month helped by Tesla sales: the 1 millionth electric vehicle was sold in the U.S.
Topics Electric Vehicles Tesla Elon Musk
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
