KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was an exercise in customer service Thursday at the Tesla dealership, 760 Broadway Street, on the Country Club Plaza.

After years of anticipation and hype, Tesla Motors was to reveal its Model 3 electric car at the company’s facility in Hawthorne, California on Thursday evening. (Tesla invites you to tune in by clicking here at 10:30 p.m. CT.) Curious drivers knew that reservations for the Model 3 would begin on March 31st worldwide and they lined up for information and to put down the $1,000 required to reserve one.  Model 3, with a base price around $35,000 is to appeal to the middle class as a vehicle they can own if they want to drive electric.

Tesla is known for its Model S sedan and its Roadster, with prices starting at $70,000 for the sedan and more than $100,000 for the Roadster. With this new Tesla costing half the amount, expect to see a few more Teslas on Kansas City roads.  On its website, Tesla answers some questions about the Model 3.  Click here  for a link to that. Tesla says production of the Model 3 is to begin in late 2017.

“We recognize that everyone wants to get their Model 3 as quickly as possible. Our overarching goal is to maximize total customer happiness within the bounds of what is physically possible,” Tesla said on its website.