Ahead of Model 3 launch, Elon Musk thanks Tesla customers for taking a risk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks about the Model 3.AP Photo/Justin Pritchard, File

Elon Musk has some words of appreciation for his ever-growing legion of Tesla customers.

“Wanted to say thanks to all that own or ordered a Tesla. It matters to us that you took a risk on a new car company. We won’t forget,” Musk tweeted on Monday evening.

Musk’s gratitude is especially poignant here, with the first 30 production units of the Model 3 due to make their world debut in about three weeks.

The Tesla CEO just hours earlier announced that the entry-level cars would be delivered on July 28, and that the company was on schedule to produce another 1,500 by September, and 20,000 Model 3s by December.

The roughly $35,000 sedan is an endeavor long in the making for Tesla and Musk. The company has become the most successful all-electric car maker in modern history, thanks in part to the Model S and Model X luxury sedan and SUV — the sales of which have paved the way for a more affordable, mass-market car in the Model 3.