Tesla is adding two top specification versions of the Model 3, suggesting those waiting for a 'base' version may be kept waiting for some time.

Delivering the base price model at this point would cause the company "to lose money & die" Musk declared in a Twitter post cited by the New York Times.

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Tesla began producing the Model 3 last summer and so far it has made only versions selling for US$49,000 or more. The base model priced at $35,000 — meant to make the car broadly affordable — is not yet available, the paper said.

In a series of recent tweets, Musk suggested that the company would suffer significant losses on the $35,000 model at this stage. He said that Tesla must increase Model 3 production to 5,000 cars a week — and then keep up that pace for three to six months — before it could begin shipping the base version.

The company has said it expects to offer the standard model by the end of the year, the paper noted.

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Musk said two more variants were now available for order – an all-wheel-drive version starting at $54,000 and a high-performance model at $78,000.

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Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein & Company, told the New York Times it was not unusual for companies to produce higher priced, more profitable models when they start making a new vehicle. But Tesla risks frustrating its customers if the most affordable version isn't available soon, he said.

The Model 3 "was dubbed the first mass market car, and a year after launch, we're getting more higher-priced versions and the $35,000 model isn't out," he said.