LONE TREE — The latest iPhone hit Apple stores Thursday, but that’s not why there was a line of people snaking around Park Meadows for a good part of the day.

No, these were Tesla Motors true believers, a rare breed of carbuyer willing to plunk down a refundable $1,000 deposit for the electric carmaker’s first “affordable” model — sight unseen.

“If you’ve driven a Tesla, it’s just a mind-blowing experience. It’s like the difference between a flip phone and an iPhone,” said Chris Chan, 34, a Denver engineer who arrived at the mall almost two hours before the Tesla store opened. “I refuse to buy any other car.”

Hundreds and hundreds of people waited in the snow and cold Thursday morning to reserve the new Tesla Model 3, hours before the company unveiled the car at its Los Angeles design studio and at least a year before the first vehicle rolls off the production line.

Similar lines were reported nationwide, and online ordering was set to begin at 8:30 p.m. local time.

The Model 3’s starting price of $35,000 puts it at less than half the cost of previous Tesla models. Fully charged, the electric car’s range was expected to be at least 200 miles, about twice that of similarly priced competitors, including the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3, according to the Associated Press.

To further defray the cost, a $ 7,500 federal tax credit is available for the first 200,000 Teslas of any model sold nationwide, a mark that Bloomberg estimates could be hit in mid-2018. In Colorado, residents are also eligible for additional electric-car tax incentives up to $6,000.

Tesla expects to begin Model 3 production at the end of 2017, although some analysts have expressed doubt the company, which has a history of delays, will meet that schedule. The first vehicles off the assembly line likely won’t be the no-frills base model, either.

“With the federal and state incentives, you’re wise to get in line,” said Bridget Sargent, 50, a mother of two from Louisville who now drives a hybrid Toyota Highlander. “If you’re in the first 200,000, it brings it down to such a great deal.”

“We don’t know what the features are, but (Tesla CEO) Elon Musk said we’d be happy,” she said. “I don’t think Tesla will do anything that will disappoint.”

Retired RTD bus driver Steve Roos got in line at 8 a.m. and had hoped to reserve cars for himself, his sister and a nephew. But the limit Thursday was two.

“It will be two years before we get them — but no problem,” Roos said. “It’s just the reality of buying the product.”

Roos, 65, said he loves that the company is “making it feasible to move forward with emission-free transport.”

“As a company, their vision is what we need moving forward,” he said. “The old way isn’t good for the environment.”

Veterinarian Bonnie Wright came from Fort Collins with her three-legged German shepherd to reserve a car.

She’s wanted an electric vehicle for awhile, but none she looked at had the range to get her from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, where she works one day a week.

“The right one hasn’t been available,” she said. “This is the first one I could afford.”

The other two vehicles Tesla sells start at $71,000 for the Model S sedan. The Model X SUV starts around $80,000.

Musk, though, has long expressed a desire to offer a lower-priced option, and the Model 3 is important to Tesla’s plan to increase sales from 85,000 this year to 500,000 by 2020, according to the AP.

Of all new vehicles purchased in the U.S. last year, only 2.1 percent cost $75,000 or more, according to TrueCar. That’s compared to 35 percent — or 5.5 million — that cost $35,000 or more.

Electric cars, however, remain a tiny fraction of the U.S. auto market. Sales of new electric vehicles were up 6 percent last year but still make up less than 1 percent of the overall market, according to IHS Automotive.

Unlike many people in line Thursday, Golden entrepreneur Doug Michaels, 41, has owned a Tesla before. He ended up selling his Model S — at a profit — not because he didn’t like it, but to help pay for the land to build a house for his family.

Michaels arrived around 9:15 a.m., expecting to be able to walk right into the mall. Instead he had to queue up outside and called his wife to bring him a second coat and warm boots.

“I believe in Elon Musk’s vision for the company and his ability to execute is fantastic,” Michaels said. “(The Model S) was the best car I’ve ever driven.”

“He’s making money but it’s really about changing how people consume energy,” he said. “It’s cool to be really proud about American cars again.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or @emilierusch