Tesla’s Model 3, the promised EV for Everyman, is due to disrupt the automotive world in 2017, but the company has yet to complete an alpha engineering prototype. Should we be worried?

Automakers are usually secretive about this sort of stuff, but it seems that developing alpha and beta prototypes are milestones that CEO Elon Musk must meet in order to receive certain equity grants, so the company discloses this information in its annual proxy filing for the SEC, as Wall Street Journal recently reported.

The latest public filing shows that Tesla has completed both prototypes for the Model X, but none for the Model 3. However, past disclosures indicate that Tesla still has plenty of time, with the Model 3’s target launch date 30 months away. In its 2012 proxy statement, Tesla said it built the alpha engineering prototype for the Model S in December 2010, less than 20 months before the first delivery in June 2012. The beta validation prototype was completed in October 2011, 9 months before d-day.

Also in the filing, Tesla disclosed that Elon Musk holds 26.7% of Tesla’s stock, and will be paid a salary of $37,440 in 2015 – minimum wage in California – which he does not accept. CTO JB Straubel earned $17.1 million in total pay in 2014. 

Source: Wall Street Journal