Tesla Model 3 deliveries in Europe facing delay: Report

San Francisco, Feb 7 (IANS) Electric vehicle maker Tesla, which officially started deliveries of its Model 3 in Europe late last month, is facing some delays as several buyers were turned away from its Tilburg factory despite being invited to collect their vehicles.

Tesla Founder and CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Thursday to explain the delay: "Sorry, many unexpected challenges with cars coming through Zeebrugge first time. Cars will start moving out in volume tomorrow."

The EV maker is expected to push up to 3,000 Model 3 vehicles through Belgium's Zeebrugge port every week in the coming months to fulfil high demand from European buyers.

"Tesla has officially started deliveries in Europe today -- though only in low volume as they ran into some issues during their first day. As we reported earlier this week, the first massive shipment of Tesla Model 3 vehicles arrived at the Zeebrugge port in Belgium.

"Many Model 3 buyers were surprised to be quickly invited to take delivery of their vehicles in Belgium and the Netherlands," the Electrek reported.

The carmaker announced Model 3 as its mass-market offering at $35,000 with a new Mid-Range battery pack that is expected to go about 200 miles.

The Long-Range Battery version of the car is priced a bit higher at $49,000 and can go 310 miles on a single charge.

The company received almost 14,000 Model 3 orders in Europe early January.

With the launch of the new battery pack option, Tesla is making several changes to the Model 3's option structure.

In major changes the rear wheel drive option is now available only with the new Mid-Range pack and the Long-Range pack only comes with a dual motor all-wheel-drive powertrain.