Tesla Model 3

The new, affordable Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle was unveiled yesterday to much fanfare.

Media outlets report long lines outside Tesla stores around the country, as eager Tesla fans hope to qualify for the government’s $7,500 EV federal subsidy.

Over 150,000 hopefuls plunked down $1,000 to pre-order the new, affordable M3 with a current sticker price of $35,000.

But, as The Daily Beast reports, Tesla founder Elon Musk is notorious for delaying vehicle delivery dates. Fans who pre-ordered the M3 today probably won’t take delivery of their cars until 2018.

And as for that $7,500 federal subsidy, it might not be available by the time the cars roll off the assembly line in 2018.

Additionally, the $35,000 price will likely balloon to $60,000 by the time 2018 rolls around, making the car unappealing to fans like loyal reader Diron, aka Eastpointvet, who fronted the capital to help build the cars.

The Daily Beast — [E]xisting Tesla owners (by definition, wealthy people) … have enough [cash] to spend on a fully specced Model 3 that could approach the Model S’s $80,000 base price. The new, downmarket buyers who have waited patiently for Tesla to deliver its long-promised affordable electric car are likely to be stuck paying full price for a bare-bones version of the Model 3, with little to no help from the federal subsidy. But because their need is the greatest, these desperate fans have the strongest motivation to line up at Tesla stores and put down $1,000 for a car they have never seen and may never be able to afford.