Tesla Stock Lifts As Model 3 Lines Stretch: How Many Reservations?
Would-be buyers lined up at Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) stores around the world Thursday to grab the first reservations, a $1,000 proposition, for the electric Model 3 that will be unveiled Thursday night. And Tesla stock climbed 3.5% by early afternoon in the stock market today , near 235. Dozens of people lined up, and some camped out, at stores in Australia, where some of the first reservations were taken, according to reports. Tesla posted to Twitter clips of others waiting in Los Angeles and Bellevue, Wash. At $1,000, Model 3 reservations set a far lower bar than the $5,000 reservations that were required for the Model S sedan and Model X crossover. Are Tesla Model 3 deposits refundable? Tesla says yes. Analysts predict that reservations will amount to billions of dollars in short order, but they’re divided on just how quickly reservations could reach 100,000. The Model 3 is a crucial car for Tesla, which is expected to try to boost its annual sales pace by about 10 times to 500,000 vehicles by 2020. At $35,000 — half the price of the Model S and the Model X — the Model 3 is seen competing with the BMW 3 Series and other gas-powered, entry-level luxury cars from the Volkswagen ( VLKAY ) Audi brand and the Mercedes-Benz brand from Daimler ( DDAIF ). It will also be competing against next-generation electric cars and hybrid cars from conventional automakers such as General Motors ( GM ) with its Chevrolet Bolt EV, and maybe eventually with a rumored Apple ( AAPL ) car, though the exact nature of Apple’s auto-related Project Titan hasn’t been specified. Tesla Model 3 Reservations: Analyst Forecasts How many Model 3 reservations will Tesla get? Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry is a bull, predicting in a research note Wednesday that the “Tesla Model 3 will break all the records in Consumer Tech in dollar terms for pre-order bookings.” He says it is widely believed that bookings could reach 100,000 by the end of the weekend, amounting to “$3.5 billion worth of pre-orders.” Stifel analyst James Albertine has predicted a slower ramp-up. Wooooow! RT @BharathNA Not a small line in Bellevue. And it's only 7.30am #tesla #Model3 pic.twitter.com/2UiuwRRzQb — Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) March 31, 2016 “Though this is just a guess, we anticipate reservation figures in the days following the launch (if disclosed) would be in the range of 15,000-20,000,” he said in a research note in early March. He sees 50,000 to 100,000 worldwide Model 3 reservations in six to eight months after Thursday’s launch. He notes that at just $1,000 each, “some attrition is expected” after people make reservations. Can Tesla Shift From Luxury Electric Niche To Mass-Market Model 3? https://t.co/lOUKNj6gDt pic.twitter.com/pTF7vjQMGx — Investors.com (@IBDinvestors) March 29, 2016 Tesla is not highly rated by IBD at moment, with a Composite Rating of just 28 out of a possible 99, factoring in earnings growth, stock performance and a variety of other measures. Tesla stock has risen about 66% from a February low but is just back around where it began the year. RELATED: Tesla Motors’ $30 Billion Question: Can Model 3 Outdo Big Car Brands? .