Delays in production of the mass-market Model 3 Tesla (TSLA) - Get Report could prevent Elon Musk's mass market car from reaching a similar trajectory to that of the Apple (AAPL) - Get Report iPhone, Barclays analyst Brian Johnson suggested in a Monday note.

"There has been no shortage of investors (both true-believer-uber-bulls and those along for the ride) who have been bulled up on Tesla into the Model 3 launch as they believe Tesla's 'iPhone moment,' in which the world appreciates the revolutionary potential of the product, will be realized by mid-2018," Johnson wrote.

The sleek, minimalist design of the Model 3's interface and its overall marriage of hardware and software design have drawn comparisons to the iPhone, as TheStreet noted in August. Telsa's primary electric-car rival, General Motors Co.'s (GM) - Get Report Chevy Bolt is comparably down market. Like the first iPhone, the Model 3 is ahead of the field.

Productions delays could move the ramp-up in Model 3 production to the latter half of 2018 or into 2019, Johnson notes, just as companies from Audi to Jaguar and Nissan (NSANY) beef up their offerings. "And in the face of increased competition, the 'iPhone moment' appears less certain," he added.

Shares of Tesla dropped 2.4% to $348.31 on Monday, but are up 64% so far this year.

Tesla reported earlier in October that it produced just 220 Model 3s in the third quarter, well below Wall Street expectations of 1,260 according to FactSet. Tesla attributed the miss to "production bottlenecks" and told investors that "there are no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain," in a statement.

On Friday afternoon, Musk used more colorful language when he tweeted that the company is "deep in production hell." He added that Tesla would delay the unveiling of Tesla's new semi vehicle as it focuses attention on the Model 3 and supplying batteries to Puerto Rico.

Musk has only himself to blame for investors' raised expectations.

Back in July, he tweeted that Tesla would produce 1,500 Model 3s by the end of the third quarter. Later in July, Musk disclosed that the company had more than 500,000 reservations for the vehicle -- or 455,000 after accounting for cancellations.

Tesla aims to produce 5,000 of the vehicles per week this year and 10,000 per week by the end of next year.

Bullish investors who have seen Tesla's stock skyrocket this year may be willing to cut Musk a little slack. "[W]ho's going to notice timing of 1,000 cars at the early days of the launch? (i.e. would anyone have viewed the success of the iPhone differently if its launch was delayed by a few months?)," Johnson asked.

Tesla's competition is growing, however. BMW rebooted the i3 this year and is reportedly planning another upgrade next year. Other anticipated 2018 arrivals include a revamped Nissa Leaf, the Jaguar I-Pace SUV the Audi Q5 e-tron Quattro.

As the marketplace for electric vehicles becomes more crowded, and more upscale options that the Chevy Bolt appear, the hoped-for similarities between the Model 3 and the iPhone may diminish.

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