Tesla claims 1,800 Model 3 orders daily; S and X up, too

In the wake of last week's Tesla Model 3 hand-off event, it's no surprise to see a torrent of buzz around the new EV and a surge in consumer interest. However, Tesla Motors reported in its second quarterly update of 2017 today that its Model S and Model X, er, models have also seen an uptick in orders.

The brand's new entry point Model 3 has seen a reported average of "over 1,800 Model 3 net reservations per day" since last week's hand-off event where 30 production cars were delivered to Tesla employees. Presumably that's the difference between new reservations resulting from all of the buzz and cancellations as prospective buyers learn that deliveries to customers won't start until later this year, with current wait times stretching well into 2018. Still, with numbers like those, it appears that a significant number of buyers feel the Model 3 will be worth the wait.

Perhaps what's most surprising is the reported uptick in orders for the Model S sedan and Model X SUV orders. Tesla's report states that leading up to and beyond the Model 3 launch event, "weekly net order rate for these vehicles was about 15 percent higher" than average with deliveries up 53 percent relative to the same quarter last year.

Model S and X are still important to the brand, even in the wake of the Model 3 launch. In fact, during the Q1 2017 earnings call just a few months ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that prospective buyers delaying purchases because they incorrectly think that the 3 is an upgrade to the S was a primary concern for the brand. The continued growth of S and X sales seems to indicate that Tesla's message is being heard.

Looking forward, Tesla's next big challenge is ramping up Model 3 production over the upcoming quarters, which will be critical if it hopes to reach its goal of 500,000 Model 3s built annually and making a dent in its huge log of preorders. The electric automaker states that its "production ramp will follow an S-curve, meaning that it will begin slowly, grow exponentially, then start to tail off" as it approaches full production. Current goals state 1,500 cars built over the 3 months of Q3 2017, a ramp up to 5,000 cars per week by year's end and a culmination of 10,000 Model 3s built weekly "at some point in 2018."

The Q2 2017 earnings report also went on to reiterate the automaker's next big thing, a fully electric semi-truck, and to tout Tesla's recent successes in solar and battery power endeavors outside of the automotive industry, including the recent news that it had been selected to build the 'world's biggest' lithium-ion battery in Australia.