The Tesla Model 3 Prototype Looks Pretty Good In The Real World

There's been only few public glimpses of the Tesla Model 3 since it was revealed in 2016, and production's set to begin on the sleek sedan this July despite the fact a beta prototype hasn't been completed. But in the meantime, there's new video of an alpha prototype tooling around California.

The minute-long clip, made by Tesla customizing shop Unplugged Performances, shows the Model 3 prototype cruising down a nearby road and a parking lot near Tesla founder Elon Musk's SpaceX Hyperloop track in Hawthorne, California.

As we reported earlier this month, Tesla hasn't completed a beta prototype of the Model 3 just yet, and Musk said in a recent conference call that he isn't sure if a production-ready version of the vehicle will be shown to the public before production beings. Videos like this could be the closest glimpse we get of the Model 3 until then.

While Tesla may have differing definitions of an "alpha" and "beta" prototype from traditional automakers, Tesla reportedly started assembly of a pre-production Model 3 in February, and the company wrote in SEC filings that it expects a beta prototype to be completed by the end of 2017's first quarter, later this month. Moreover, it puts the company on a completely atypical trajectory to move a vehicle from prototype to full production.

And that makes the July production date all the more interesting to follow.