First Tesla Model 3 with right hand drive spotted in California

The Tesla Model 3 launch in Australia is only months away, we are told by the company, and there is now proof that Tesla has started making right hand drive version of the popular all-electric sedan.

A confirmation from CEO and founder Elon Musk that Tesla would begin making the RHD Model 3 for Australia in volume by late May or June was received via social media channel Twitter just last week, and now one EV pundit from the home of the Model 3, California, has posted a photo of one, in the wild, or at least on the road.

The image was posted on the Tesla Motors subreddit by a Reddit user showing that Tesla is bang on schedule – although Australians are not first in line for the RHD Model 3 and will have to form an orderly queue behind the UK.

The image shows quite clearly that the black Model 3 snapped and posted Tuesday by the Reddit user has a driver in the right hand front seat.

“Spotted a right-hand-drive Model 3 just minutes ago! (had to make sure I was driving on the right side of the road),” wrote the Reddit user.

Spotted a Right-Hand-Drive Model 3 Just Minutes Ago! (had to make sure I was driving on the right side of the road) from r/teslamotors

It will more than likely first be shipped to the UK, where Tesla’s UK staff reportedly confirmed in February 2019 that the UK Model 3 configurator would be online in 1-2 months.

Australia will follow, with shipments expected to arrive “in winter” said Musk.

With production now expected to begin for Australia by June, it is likely that the first Model 3s will begin arriving in mid-late winter – that is, by the end of August.

Australian sales staff told The Driven in February that the Australian Model 3 configurator would be online in “the next few months”.

It is expected that Australian reservation holders, the first of which put down money for the Model 3 as early as July 2017, will be the first to officially place orders and receive deliveries on a first-come, first-served basis.