It's not certain how many cars Tesla can offer this way, although the company has been making batches of RWD Model 3 cars that weren't tailored to specific customers. It's clearly betting that some customers are willing to take a Model 3 right away, even if the configuration isn't exactly what they wanted.

This may be welcome news if you were otherwise faced with a months-long wait, especially if you were waiting for the $35,000 base model (due sometime in 2019) but could afford to spend extra. At the same time, it illustrates just how frantic Tesla is in its efforts to raise production and delivery numbers. It wants to show that the Model 3 is (or will be) profitable, and it's willing to forego the usual procedures to make that happen.