Is Tesla's Model 3 Late?

The Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3 may be delayed until 2017, according to a report from VentureBeat.

Contributor John Voelcker noted that the company had a history of missing production deadlines while CEO Elon Musk had previously said the vehicle would go into production “by the end of 2016.”

Industry consensus, however, had moved towards a 2017 launch because, according to a recent SEC filing, the Model 3 alpha prototype had not yet been developed as of March 31.

“Following the Model S timetable, to deliver the first Tesla Model 3 by December 2017–just 30 months hence–Tesla wouldn’t have to have its engineering prototype alpha model running until June 2016,” Voelcker wrote.

Even with an aggressive development schedule, Tesla would still need time to fully ramp-up production for the Model 3. “Musk has recently acknowledged that Tesla is unlikely to be producing Model 3s at the full rate of 500,000 cars a year ‘until 2020’ or thereabouts,” according to the report.

Another potential complication that was cited for production was the need for Tesla’s Gigafactory to be producing a sufficient quantity of batteries at the Model 3’s launch.

Tesla Motors recently traded at $232.65, up 0.5 percent.