Tesla handed over the keys to the first 30 Model 3 owners at the automaker's manufacturing plant in Fremont, California Friday night. The jubilant event marked the culmination of a long journey to deliver an affordable electric car. With its first three vehicles — the Roadster, Model S and Model X — Tesla (TSLA) made electric cars cool. But with prices approaching and exceeding $100,000, few could afford them. Now with the Model 3, which starts at $35,000, Tesla is releasing a vehicle that could truly move the needle on electric car adoption. The sedan is a critical step in CEO Elon Musk's vision of accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy. "This is a great day for Tesla," Musk told reporters Friday. "It was never our goal just to make expensive cars. We wanted to make cars everyone could buy."