Late last week, new photos and video footage of a Tesla Model 3 prototype emerged online. While the prototype didn’t appear to be all that different from the design Tesla originally unveiled last year, it’s not too often that we come across an actual Model 3 out in the wild.
The photos and videos were captured by Unplugged Performance, a company conveniently located right next to Tesla’s Design Studio. Over the weekend, Unplugged Performance posted an even crisper video of Tesla’s Model 3 out in the wild. If you’re a Model 3 reservation holder or simply a fan of the company, the video is certainly worth watching.
With Tesla still standing by its claim that Model 3 deliveries will begin in earnest by the end of the year, the pressure is on for the company to follow through and prove critics wrong.
Per the company’s recent shareholder letter, “Model 3 vehicle development, supply chain and manufacturing are on track to support volume deliveries in the second half of 2017.” Tesla also added that it began building Model 3 prototypes in February. Still, Tesla doesn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to meeting arguably ambitious release dates.
Looking ahead, Tesla said that initial crash and safety testing on the Model 3 has been positive and that production will begin in July.
“Installation of Model 3 manufacturing equipment is underway in Fremont and at Gigafactory 1,” the company said last month, “where in January, we began production of battery cells for energy storage products, which have the same form-factor as the cells that will be used in Model 3.”