Tesla Model 3 History

The Model 3 was the affordable, high-volume car Tesla had always promised — a compact four-door sedan unveiled in 2016 with a starting target of $35,000. Deliveries began in mid-2017, but the company hit severe early manufacturing problems Elon Musk called 'production hell', delivering only about 1,764 cars in 2017 before the line eventually ramped to hundreds of thousands a year.

Its stripped-back, button-free interior — nearly all controls moved to a single central touchscreen — set a template the rest of the lineup followed. It was sold in rear- and all-wheel-drive Standard Range, Long Range, and Performance trims, and from 2018 to 2020 it was the world's best-selling plug-in electric car. In June 2021 it became the first EV to pass one million global sales.

A major 2023 refresh, internally codenamed 'Highland,' updated the styling, aerodynamics, and interior — adding a rear-seat screen and removing the steering-column stalks for indicators and gear selection.