Just days after registering more than 5,000 new Model 3 VINs, Tesla filed another 3,661 vehicle identification numbers for its compact electric car. With the addition of this latest batch, Tesla has now registered a total of 42,942 VINs for the Model 3.
The new Model 3 VINs were posted on Twitter by @Model3VINs, a group that tracks Tesla’s registrations for the electric car. A month ago, the highest VIN registered by Tesla was #28296, despite the vehicle already being in production for months. Since then, the number of VINs have increased by more than 50%.
This week alone, Tesla registered more than 8,000 new Model 3 VINs, a feat that took Tesla months to accomplish since starting production of the electric car last year. Looking at past VIN tracker reports, Tesla was only able to breach the VIN#8,000 barrier late December, despite the vehicle starting production in mid-2017.
#Tesla registered 3,661 new #Model3 VINs. Highest VIN is 42942. https://t.co/k4EnfTbGNZ
— Model 3 VINs (@Model3VINs) May 11, 2018
During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk stated that the company had become a “leaky server of information.” Musk even noted that any information on the Model 3 line that he mentions in the call would likely become public knowledge after a few weeks, considering that shipments and registrations for the car are being carefully tracked and monitored.
“People track registrations very closely. So at most, any information that we provide would be 1 week or 2 in advance of what will become public knowledge just due to vehicle registrations and shipments that are tracked very carefully,” Musk said.
Tesla’s more than 8,000 new Model 3 VINs that were filed this week seems to be in line with the estimates outlined in a leaked email from Elon Musk last month. In that particular email, Musk stated that the scheduled shutdown of the Model 3 line last April is expected to pave the way for the company to hit a production rate of 3,000-4,000 Model 3 per week.
Another shutdown is expected this May, which would, in turn, enable the Model 3 line to boost production to 5,000-6,000 vehicles per week. Once Tesla hits a steady production rate of 5,000 Model 3 per week, the company would start rolling out new variants of the vehicle, such as dual-motor AWD.
Elon Musk has boldly declared that Tesla would be profitable by the third or fourth quarter this year. In order for the electric car maker to accomplish this, the Model 3 line must be working at optimum pace. Musk highlighted this during the Q1 2018 earnings call, when he stated that time is right for Tesla to start making a profit.
Musk doubled down on his statements on Twitter as well, stating that the “short burn of the century” would be coming soon. Emphasizing his point, Musk also bought nearly $10 million worth of TSLA shares, taking the battle directly to the company’s critics.
As of writing, Tesla stocks (NASDAQ:TSLA) are trading down .01% at $305.00 per share during Friday’s pre-market.
