IT RHYMES WITH MODEL T: Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 begins production Friday.

The first car will roll off the assembly line two weeks ahead of schedule. Tesla has scheduled a “handover party” for the first 30 customers for July 28.

The company plans to produce 20,000 cars in December, company founder Elon Musk said Monday in a series of Twitter comments.

The Model 3, an electric-powered car selling for about $35,000, is a crucial test for the company and its plans to make affordable electric vehicles available to a wide range of customers. Musk said he hopes Tesla will manufacturer 500,000 cars per year by 2018. The company has made about 85,000 vehicles thus far, selling them at prices of $90,000 and beyond.

Musk has promised to ramp up annual Model 3 production to half a million units in 2018, which would be a modern manufacturing miracle if he can pull it off.