Tesla offers Model 3 test drives for first time — in Bay Area

For the first time, Tesla Model 3 reservation holders can test drive the electric sedan.

The Palo Alto electric car maker on Friday started offering test drives of the Model 3 at four Bay Area locations: Dublin-Amador Plaza, Corte Madera, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto.

On Saturday, Tesla will start offering Model 3 test drives at four more locations in the region: San Jose, Burlingame, San Francisco and Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto.

Test-drive appointments can be scheduled on Tesla’s website, on the Model 3 page.

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The company chose the Bay Area locations for the initial test-drive offering, and plans to roll the program out nationwide this summer.

While the Model 3 carries Tesla’s ambitions to be the electric car maker to the masses, the $35,000 model intended to attract the most buyers is not yet in production. The test-drive cars will be premium versions with a long-range battery and rear-wheel drive, Tesla said.

The test drives are offered to people who have put down $1,000 deposits on the Model 3. A Tesla staffer will accompany drivers. Nearly half a million Model 3s have been reserved, according to Tesla.

For the car maker headed by CEO Elon Musk, the Model 3 has attracted widespread interest, and delays in its production have sparked controversy over the firm’s ability to meet promised goals.

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Tesla declined to say if or when people without Model 3 reservations might be able to test drive the car.

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