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Even Elon Musk Is Surprised By How Popular Tesla’s New Car Is

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Automaker Tesla is seeing a nice boost in its stock price Monday following news of high demand for its upcoming electric sedan.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed Sunday that the Model 3, which was officially unveiled March 31, racked up 276,000 preorders in less than 72 hours. The news helped push Tesla’s stock up more than 3% in early morning trading Monday.

At a base retail price of $35,000, the Model 3 will be the first car Tesla offers at a mass-market price. The massive number of preorders already far exceeds the number of flagship Model S cars the company has sold. But it’s unclear when Tesla will actually have the production capability to manufacture so many cars in a timely manner.

Musk himself, who at first seemed caught off-guard by the high demand, has already warned that the wait time for the Model 3 is “growing rapidly.”

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