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Did Tesla actually have the best launch of any product in history?
Tesla Motors unveils the new lower-priced Model 3 sedan at the Tesla Motors design studio Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Hawthorne. It doesn't go on sale until late 2017, but in the first 24 hours that order banks were open, Tesla said it had more than 115,000 reservations. Long lines at Tesla stores, reminiscent of the crowds at Apple stores for early models of the iPhone, were reported from Hong Kong to Austin, Texas, to Washington, D.C. Buyers put down a $1,000 deposit to reserve the car.
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Did Tesla actually have the best launch of any product in history?
Tesla boasts that its Model 3 all-electric sedan broke sales records — and not just for a car, but for any product ever made.
"A week ago, we started taking reservations for Model 3, and the excitement has been incredible," the company said in a blog post. "We’ve now received more than 325,000 reservations, which corresponds to about $14 billion in implied future sales, making this the single biggest one-week launch of any product ever."
The key word: "implied" sales, because Tesla hasn't actually sold any Model 3's yet, because there aren't any to sell, says David Undercoffler, west coast bureau chief for Automotive News.
“You can’t sell something that doesn’t exist,” said Undercoffler.
The Model 3 is still in development. The company says it won’t be ready for deliveries until the end of next year — and it has a history of delivering its new models late. Right now, Tesla is letting people reserve the $35,000 car (base model) for $1,000, but the money is refundable at any time.
“These are 325,000 people raising their hand and saying 'sure, take $1,000 of my money and if at any time for any reason I change my mind, I get that money back,'” said Undercoffler.
None of this is to say interest in the Model 3 hasn’t been impressive; it's exceeded expectations by a great deal.
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“We are not aware of any precedent of this level of order interest for any other car,” Adam Jonas, a Morgan Stanley analyst, wrote in a research note that was quoted in The New York Times.
However, calling the Model 3 the best launch in history is probably a stretch, which you can chalk up to bold marketing from a company famous for it despite that fact it eschews traditional advertising.
"They're very good at getting people's attention and generating hype," said Undercoffler.
Now to see if those 325,000 people stay hyped.
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