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Tesla Model 3 sedan Image Credit: Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla Inc  nearly produced 5,000 Model 3 electric sedans in the last week of its second quarter, with the final car rolling off the assembly line on Sunday morning, several hours after the midnight goal set by Chief Executive Elon Musk, two workers at the factory told Reuters.

The 5,000th car finished final quality checks at the Fremont, California factory around 5 a.m. PDT (1200 GMT), one person said.

It was not clear if Tesla could maintain that level of production for a longer period.

Musk said the company hit its target of 5,000 Model 3s in a week, according to an email sent to employees on Sunday afternoon and seen by Reuters.

Tesla also expects to produce 6,000 Model 3 sedans a week “next month.”

“I think we just became a real car company,” Musk wrote. The company hit the Model 3 mark while also achieving its production goal of 7,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in a week, Musk said in the email.

Tesla confirmed the contents of the email.

After repeatedly pushing back internal targets, Tesla vowed in January to build 5,000 Model 3s per week before the close of the second quarter on Saturday to demonstrate it could mass produce the battery-powered sedan.

Money-losing Tesla has been burning through cash to produce the Model 3, and delays have also potentially compromised Tesla’s first-to-market position for a mid-priced, long-range battery electric car as a host of competitors prepare to launch rival vehicles.

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Tesla Model 3 sedan Image Credit: Reuters
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