Dual-motor Tesla Model 3 expected to finally arrive in July 2018

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla Model 3 cars equipped with a dual-motor will arrive in July — so long as the company reaches its target of producing 5,000 standard Model 3s a week. 

Previously, the dual-motor vehicle was expected to arrive by the middle of this year, but problems with ramping up production on the current version of the Model 3 have cast doubt on whether the company is ready to move on to the more advanced model.

A dual-motor design will mean that the new version of the Model 3 will have a dedicated motor for the front and rear axles, just like the Jaguar I-Pace. The result will be a car with quicker acceleration than current rear-wheel-drive models, and we’d also expect it to perform better in wet or snowy conditions.

The July deadline for producing 5,000 cars a week seems ambitious for Tesla given that, as Electrek reports, the company has only just reached the 2,000-a-week mark.

Tesla’s battles

A lack of production capacity has been an ongoing problem for Tesla over the years. It has built its manufacturing capability more or less from scratch since it was first founded, and is currently building one of the worlds largest factories, Gigafactory 1, in Nevada.

However, the company has consistently failed to hit its manufacturing targets for its mass-market Model 3 car. Its long reservation lists suggest customers aren’t wary about the company’s ability to eventually produce them, but shareholders have been more skittish, resulting in Tesla’s stock plummeting from $304 to $257 at the end of March.

The news that the company has a new model on the horizon isn’t surprising, but people will be watching the production levels of the current Model 3 very carefully to see if Tesla has a future as a mass-market electric car company.

Do you think the Model 3 needs a dual-motor design? Let us know @TrustedReviews.