Tesla sets July 1, 2017 production date for Model 3, but there's a catch

Tesla has set a Model 3 production date of July 1, 2017. Of course, there's a caveat.

Elon Musk revealed during the Tesla first quarter earnings call Wednesday afternoon that Tesla has told its third-party parts suppliers that Model 3 production will start on July 1. However, he admitted it was an "impossible" date. There's no way production will actually start then, as suppliers will be late to deliver.

Musk explained that the July date had to be set in order for real production to begin several months later. Without that date, Tesla wouldn't be able to hold suppliers' feet to the fire, if they miss the deadline.

Once production is up and running, Musk anticipates Tesla will be able to produce 100,000 to 200,000 Model 3 cars in 2017. He urged any interested customers who haven't put in a pre-order yet to do so now, if they want to take delivery on their car in 2018.

As for 2016, Musk believes Tesla is on target to build 89,000 Tesla vehicles this year.

Ramping up from just shy of 100,000 cars produced to double that number in a single year is a no small feat. Musk realizes that. During the earnings call, he declared that Tesla aims to be the leader not just in electric vehicles but also in auto manufacturing.