The Tesla Model 3 has been on sale in the US for some time now, but it was never intended to be limited to our amber waves of grain. Now, it's about time for other parts of the world to get in on the action.
This week, Tesla announced that it opened the Model 3's design studio (the fancy name for its car configurator) to the public in China and certain left-hand-drive European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Previously, only those who put down cash money on a deposit were eligible to access to the design studio. Now it's available to anybody who's interested in learning more about Model 3 configurations. The Model 3's rollout in the US was similar -- reservation holders got the first crack at configuring cars before the greater public had a chance.
Right now, it appears that buyers in these new markets are limited to just two Model 3 variants -- the Model 3 Performance and the Model 3 Long-Range (with AWD). It's unclear when or if Europe and China will receive other variants such as the mid-range Model 3 currently available in the US.
According to Electrek, initial Model 3 deliveries for non-US markets are currently scheduled to start in February for reservation holders, with new orders set to reach their owners in March. Bloomberg reports that Tesla has yet to receive the full sign-off from European authorities to sell the Model 3 there, but Bloomberg's source says the company isn't worried and that its current schedule should work out just fine.