Elon Musk claims 5,000 new Model 3 orders placed last week

Telsa CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to assuage rumours that 24 percent of Model 3 orders have been cancelled.

According to a July 19th, 2018 Musk tweet, the electric vehicle manufacturer had 2,000 combined Model S and Model X net orders last week, as well as 5,000 new Model 3 net orders.

Dunno where this bs is coming from. Who knows about the future, but last week we had over 2000 S/X and 5000 Model 3 *new* net orders.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2018

Musk’s tweet comes in the wake of statements made by Needham and Co. analyst Rajvindra Gill who suggested that more people are cancelling orders for Tesla’s Model 3 mid-size sedan than placing new orders.

Gill cited the elimination of a $7,500 USD electric vehicle rebate, as well as the lack of a long-promised $35,000 USD Model 3, for why orders are down.

A Tesla spokesperson who spoke with CNN denied Gill’s analysis.

It’s worth noting that, according to Electrek, the inclusion of the term “net orders” in Musk’s tweet suggests that Musks numbers represent all total orders after cancellations.

As such, Musk’s tweet can be seen as a rebuke of Gill’s analysis.

When the vehicle first launched, Consumer Reports refused to recommend the Model 3 due to a number of issues that Tesla eventually fixed through a software update.

After the update was issued, the Model 3 received a Consumer Reports recommendation.

Still, while the vehicle has been mostly well-received by critics and consumers alike, it’s been plagued with numerous production issues.

Tesla finally reached Musk’s long-awaited 5,000-Model-3-per-week production target earlier this month.

According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Tesla is also set to unveil a “more affordable” $35,000 USD Model 3 at the company’s University City, Missouri showroom on Friday, July 20th, 2018.

Source: Twitter, Electrek, St. Louis Business Journal