Tesla Motors said orders for its new Model 3 electric sedan topped 253,000 in the first 36 hours a fast start for the company's first mass-market vehicle which may not begin to reach customers for another 18 months or more Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted on Friday that the Model 3 will sell at an average price of $42,000 which would give the initial flurry of orders an estimated retail value of $10.6 billion