It’s here: Elon Musk tweets photos of first Tesla Model 3, hot off production line

Electric carmaker Tesla has produced its first Model 3 sedan, a highly anticipated car because it carries a relatively low sticker price.

CEO Elon Musk late Saturday tweeted the first pictures of the car, which will cost US$35,000 and can travel 345km on a single electric charge. A US$7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles would lower the cost to US$27,500 in the US.

The images bear a strong resemblance to the car Musk first revealed in 2016. Although Musk said the first car would have gone to Ira Ehrenpreis, a venture capitalist who founded DBL Partners, Ehrenpreis “gave those rights to me as a 46th birthday present,” Musk said on Twitter.

The highly anticipated vehicle is expected to be delivered to the first 30 people on Tesla’s massive waiting list later this month.

With more than 370,000 pending reservations for a Model 3, Tesla has its work cut out. Analysts believe the car could help jump-start the spread of pure-electric vehicles in the US, but only if the company is successful at keeping its factory running at top speed.

The company has been plagued by production issues in the past that have led to concerns about Tesla’s ability to keep up with demand.