Orders for lower-price Tesla reach 276,000

CORRECTS SPELLING OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S LAST NAME TO PRITCHARD, NOT PRICHARD - Tesla Motors unveils the new lower-priced Model 3 sedan at the Tesla Motors design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., Thursday, March 31, 2016. 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. (AP Photo/Justin Pritchard) CORRECTS SPELLING OF PHOTOGRAPHER'S LAST NAME TO PRITCHARD, NOT PRICHARD - Tesla Motors unveils the new lower-priced Model 3 sedan at the Tesla Motors design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., Thursday, March 31, 2016. 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. (AP Photo/Justin Pritchard)

By Associated Press April 4, 2016 1 min read

DETROIT (AP) – Tesla Motors’ CEO says worldwide orders for a new lower-priced electric car hit 276,000 last weekend.

CEO Elon Musk posted the number Sunday on his Twitter feed. He says if the trend continues orders will hit 500,000.

Tesla’s new Model 3 starts at $35,000 and has a range of 215 miles per charge. Customers must put down $1,000 to order the cars, which go on sale in late 2017.

Musk says in tweets that Model 3 steering controls will feel like a spaceship. He also says it will be rear-wheel-drive with optional all-wheel-drive.

The orders make it likely that many won’t get a $7,500 U.S. electric car tax credit. The credit phases out when a manufacturer hits 200,000 sales. Tesla won’t say how many orders came from the U.S.