Tesla has received deposits from 115,000 people for its entry-level Model 3 volume-seller.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the Model 3 will be priced from $US35,000 when US deliveries commence next year, have a full-charge battery range of 346 kilometers and promised that even the least powerful variant will be capable of 0-100 km/h in less than six seconds.
Styling is a little avant-garde for me, and the flat nose without a grille looks somewhat odd.
Musk said the Model 3 would come standard with active safety systems across the range, including the hardware necessary to operate the Autopilot hands-free autonomous system that made its debut on the Model S last year.
Tesla Model 3.
He also said the company’s aim was for the Model 3 to rate five stars in every crash-test safety category and that its standard equipment levels, even in base trim, would exceed that of other vehicles in the same size and price category.
Access to Tesla’s growing global network of Supercharger fast-charging stations will also be standard.
Like the Model S and Model X, the Model 3 has front and rear luggage compartments, providing “more cargo capacity than any gasoline (car) of the same external dimensions” and Musk confirmed that a seven-foot surfboard will fit inside. This is because the battery will be under the floor.
Emphasizing that the Model 3 will accommodate five adults “comfortably”, Mr Musk explained that to maximize the passenger compartment, the dashboard area had been “compressed” and the front seats located further forward, providing plenty of legroom front and rear, while a single-pane rear glass roof was claimed to provide “amazing headroom and a feeling of openness”.
Some commentators have raised concerns over whether Tesla has the production capacity to meet the volume requirements of a car like the Model 3.
At the reveal event, Musk addressed the issue by pointing out the Freemont factory, a former General Motors and Toyota production plant, had previously churned out almost 500,000 cars per year.
“We’re confident that Tesla can achieve that number in the future in terms of vehicle production,” he said. “So I think that’s going to be – I wouldn’t say straightforward – but very doable.”
Musk explained that the limiting factor in producing high volumes of electric cars was global battery production capacity, but that this was to be addressed with its new Gigafactory in Nevada.
“In order to produce half a million cars a year, we would basically need the entire world’s lithium-ion (battery) production,” he said.
“That’s why we are building the Gigafactory. This is a vital element … It will produce more lithium-ion batteries than every factory in the world combined, in one location … it will also be building the most advanced battery and cell in the world.”
This new Tesla is another nail in the gasoline coffin, as it would appear it has covered the range anxiety that has been with electric cars, and here is Tesla with a car promising a 346 km range and zero to 100 kays in less than six seconds. The only drawback is the “Supercharger refueling” stations which are needed, and currently not available in Thailand, or most countries, to be honest.
However, Musk seems to have the answers to everything and I would not be surprised if he leased petrol stations to add in the battery charging systems.
