San Francisco — An unlikely naysayer has emerged as Tesla prepares to market the all-important Model 3 sedan to consumers: Elon Musk himself. Two months before the electric-car maker plans to begin production of its first vehicle to sell for near-mass-market prices, the CEO told investors he was concerned expectations are too high. Tesla would be "anti-selling" the Model 3, offering no test drives or advertising for six to nine months, he said after reporting a first-quarter loss. "We’re doing our best to clear up that confusion so people do not think that Model 3 is somehow superior to Model S," Musk said on a conference call on Wednesday. "Model S will be better than Model 3, as it should be because it’s a more expensive car." The Model 3 is the linchpin in Musk’s plan to bring electric cars to the mainstream. Tesla is targeting output of 1-million cars a year by 2020, a sharp rise from the roughly 84,000 the company produced in 2016. Reaching that ambitious goal will require ampl...
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