Tesla unveils more affordable Model 3, gives glimpse at Apple's future auto competition
Tesla on Thursday night unveiled the long-awaited Model 3, its first electric car to be priced for the general public instead of rich sports and luxury car buyers.
The four-door will cost just $35,000 before options, approximately half the sticker price of a 2015 Model S. The first 200,000 U.S. units will also qualify for federal tax subsidies supporting electric vehicles, potentially making the car as cheap as $27,500.
Despite being scaled back, the Model 3 will accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour in under 6 seconds, and have a range of at least 215 miles per charge. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his company is hoping to extend range even further by the time the first Model 3s are delivered, in late 2017.
Prior to last night's announcement, lineups at Tesla showrooms managed to secure 115,000 paid reservations for the vehicle -- a number which has likely only increased since online reservations were launched with the unveiling.
The Model 3 will also include a large touchscreen dash interface -- in landscape orientation, unlike the Model S -- and support not just Autopilot assisted driving, but future self-driving functions.
Tesla's prospects are riding on the success of the Model 3, in no small part because of investor expectations and the company's massive infrastructure investments. The Gigafactory built to increase battery production is worth billions of dollars, and by the time the Model 3 ships the company will have doubled its worldwide tally of charging stations.
A later version of the Model 3 could be in direct competition with Apple's rumored electric car. That vehicle is expected to arrive no earlier than 2019 or 2020, however, and may or may not have self-driving technology in its first generation. Many of the people working on the project are believed to have been poached from Tesla.
The four-door will cost just $35,000 before options, approximately half the sticker price of a 2015 Model S. The first 200,000 U.S. units will also qualify for federal tax subsidies supporting electric vehicles, potentially making the car as cheap as $27,500.
Despite being scaled back, the Model 3 will accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour in under 6 seconds, and have a range of at least 215 miles per charge. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his company is hoping to extend range even further by the time the first Model 3s are delivered, in late 2017.
Prior to last night's announcement, lineups at Tesla showrooms managed to secure 115,000 paid reservations for the vehicle -- a number which has likely only increased since online reservations were launched with the unveiling.
The Model 3 will also include a large touchscreen dash interface -- in landscape orientation, unlike the Model S -- and support not just Autopilot assisted driving, but future self-driving functions.
Tesla's prospects are riding on the success of the Model 3, in no small part because of investor expectations and the company's massive infrastructure investments. The Gigafactory built to increase battery production is worth billions of dollars, and by the time the Model 3 ships the company will have doubled its worldwide tally of charging stations.
A later version of the Model 3 could be in direct competition with Apple's rumored electric car. That vehicle is expected to arrive no earlier than 2019 or 2020, however, and may or may not have self-driving technology in its first generation. Many of the people working on the project are believed to have been poached from Tesla.
Comments
What happened to the speedometer dashboard?
It only has the 12" iPad Pro in the middle.
I really like Tesla and I hope Apple at least invest in their effort and perhaps use their manufacturing plants and GigaFactory here in the States.
I think Apple has some amazing technology to offer car makers including Tesla.
Things like:
1. Coherent navigation services for accurate autonomous EVs.
2. SIRI based CarPlay for exquisite UI for interaction with the car.
3. Advanced iOS based object oriented automotive operating system.
4. Amazing connectivity and an AppStore for your car.
But I still think working with Tesla in the US would be better both companies especially since TESLA already has the GigaFactory and the manufacturing plants.
Apple will make something far more engaging and broadly appealing.
No, I don't have any idea where this would lead. But it is cool to see this kind of technology succeed. It is possible we could see the wide spread residential power grid be completely transformed in the next few decades. Small power co-ops of a few houses? Natural gas fuel cells that supplement simple solar or wind systems? Cool.
But to say that $35,000 (or even $27,500 if lucky to get the credit) is a "car to be priced for the general public instead of rich sports and luxury car buyers" is way off the mark.
I get that the technology is new and there is NRE to be recovered, and I get that the car is "cool", but until manufacturers (Tesla, GM, Toyota, Honda, etc. maybe even Apple) starts taking the basic electric motor train technology and adapting it to cars with less bells-n-whistles, none of these types of cars will be within the economy of the general public.
With 3 or 4 models under its belt by now, I would have hoped Tesla would lead the way towards making a car that could start to take more hydrocarbon vehicles off the road. Don't get me wrong, I think the car has lots of style and would love to have one myself, but $35k is still to rich for me.
Also that price you mentioned is before stateside federal subsidies. Tesla's price is without subsides. I believe the sticker price on the Bolt is $37,000 or near thereabouts.
Point is that Tesla also makes the cars software which could replace Apples gadgets in the future.
I read today that the average selling price of a new car today is $33K. Price-wise, this hits the mark 100%. Even better if one lucks into the rebates.
I think its Teslas last option to use Apples software; why give control to another company if your very successful developing software yourself.
The worry should be the other way around.
not because they are losing money on the cars they sell, but because they are building out a worldwide network of charging stations, building an enormous
battery factory, adding hundreds of sales galleries and service centers, and designing and building new car models and the assembly lines to produce them.
People frequently opine that Tesla is burning money. When you burn money you are left with nothing but a pile of ashes. The money Tesla is spending is
leaving them with tremendously valuable assets, which they are already using to good advantage. Traditional car makers/dealers trivialize what Tesla is doing
at their own peril.