Ford Inside News banner

Tesla Model 3: 215 miles of range for $35,000

25K views 116 replies 16 participants last post by  falcon lover 
#1 · (Edited)


After a long wait, Tesla has finally unveiled the Model 3. It's what we were expecting (and hoping for) – a less-expensive, versatile, attractive 5-seater with decent range and a low price. It rounds out Tesla's revised Secret Master Plan, as Elon Musk cheekily called it, that started with the Roadster, progressed to the Model S, and grew to encompass the Model X.

That's all fine, but did you catch how many preorders Musk said the company had received for the Model 3 by this evening? 115,000 – a staggering number. If you'll remember, each reservation to purchase a Model 3 requires a $1,000 (refundable) deposit.

Here's the other stuff you should really know about Tesla's entry-level electric vehicle. For one, Musk promises it'll ace every safety test category. All will be standard with Autopilot hardware (autonomous driving functionality) and Supercharging (very fast recharging) capability.

It'll also seat five real adults in comfort, as Tesla has squashed the instrument panel a bit and moved the front seats forward to clear rear legroom. To give a sense of airiness to the cabin, and also to gain some extra headroom, it'll have a roof that's a single continuous pane of glass. Neat. In case you surf, it'll swallow a 7-foot surfboard, apparently.

When Musk went over range and acceleration, he made it clear he was talking about the bottom-tier Model 3. Other models, he promised, would go faster and further. As it sits, the "base" Model 3 will get at least 215 miles on a charge and hit 60 mph in less than 6 seconds. "We don't make slow cars," Musk quipped. Musk is fairly confident the Model 3 can be delivered by the end of next year at the $35,000 price point. You are probably aware that new Teslas don't always arrive on schedule, so take the timing with a grain of salt.

How many Model 3s does the company want to sell? Musk seemed confident that he could ramp up both the Californian vehicle assembly plant and the new Gigafactory lithium ion battery facility to produce a total of 500,000 vehicles a year, including the Model 3. That's a very ambitious figure, but considering the number of deposits placed before the car was even revealed, maybe you shouldn't bet against the man.
Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2016/04/01/...com/2016/04/01/tesla-model-3-reveal-official/
 
See less See more
1
#3 ·
$42,500 is what you pay tax, insurance and interest on when you finance it.
Yes, when available, the tax credit helps.

But I have to say, that is a lot of interest in this model. Personally, I would still rather have a PHEV that does not limit you to hundreds of miles.
Can’t wait to see what Ford is rolling out, but you can bet it will be competitive.
 
#4 ·
saw elsewhere


Posted Today, 10:35 AM
Up to 180,000 orders in the past 24 hours for the Model 3.
Total EV and plug in hybrid sales in the USA in all of 2015 were 116,000. And 25,000 of those were from Tesla Model S.



imho (haven't researched yet) the qualities of Model 3 are Not the reason for the game-changing numbers

it's the Reputation/perception that Tesla has BUILT

and that's my reason for wishing FoMoCo had done more so far

it'll be interesting to see if "banking" their federal e-credits pays-off when they decide it's time
 
#5 ·

Tesla's already booked 200,000 Model 3 orders

Yahoo/
Business Insider By Benjamin Zhang
4 hours ago

...(earlier) On Friday, Musk announced on Twitter that his company generated roughly 180,000 orders in 24 hours. Less than two hours later, he said that the total is closer to 200,000.

By Musk's math, 180,000 orders means that the automaker has booked about $7.5 billion in future sales. It's based on a price of $42,000 a car.

The car's base price is about $35,000, but it is expected to launch with versions that cost well above that.

Musk is, of course, making some assumptions there, namely about how many of those who placed deposits will actually buy the car when it's ready in 2017 or 2018.

Venture capitalist David Pakman, however, tweeted a different take that still leads to some impressive numbers. If the company books 200,000 preorders and actually sells cars to 70% of those buyers at the lowest-possible price, then it means the company has just locked in $4.9 billion in future sales, with little money spent on marketing.

And regardless of the eventual sell-through, what is already clear is that — with the 200,000 preorders that Musk announced — Tesla has raked in $200 million in interest-free cash...
 
#6 ·
almost posted this in a sales thread but thought better of it..

TESLA

via
Hype Watch: You know the Model 3 doesn't exist yet, right?
LA Times

By Michael Hiltzik - April1, 2016

...
1. Musk's claims about the Model 3's performance and specification may be merely aspirational...

2. Previous Tesla models have been plagued with quality problems...

3. Customers may not be eligible for tax credits. Among the forces behind the acceptance of electric cars are government credits, including an IRS credit of up to $7,500 for Tesla vehicles such as the Model 3. The problem is that those credits start to disappear once a manufacturer has delivered 200,000 electric vehicles. That may well happen before the first Model 3's are placed in customers' hands; given Tesla's production forecasts for its Model X and Model S luxury cars, it's almost certain to happen very soon after Model 3 deliveries start. So calculations that the real list price of the new car is a competitive $27,500 rather than $35,000 may be way off.

That's important because ...

4. Competing all-electric vehicles will be reaching the market before the Model 3. Musk and his Tesla evangelism deserve some credit for promoting the electric car as a potential set of wheels for mainstream buyers. But this was more relevant years ago, before legacy American carmakers caught the EV bug. GM, for instance, is poised to start delivering its all-electric Chevy Bolt by the end of this year, with a rated range of more than 200 miles. The Bolt will list at $30,000 after the tax credit, which makes it look a tad more expensive than the Model 3. But according to GM, it will be on the market at least a year earlier.

5. Tesla's financial health is questionable...
 
#13 ·
Purchasing a car like buying a not yet built condo from a developer on Roatan Island seems a weird way to buy a car that has no guarantee of ever making it into production.
Myself I would never consider such a vehicle purchase.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Re: Tesla Model 3: channeling the original Mustang :cool:



imho it's more like joining a club ... or gym

...or a very low buy-in CrimmasClub
( I saw the Model X requires a $5k deposit )

&
anyone know (without googling) how many the original Mustang sold in its first 12 months
(&
saw last nite too late to post / not updated this morning...)
enGadget
Teslas Model 3 has already racked up 232,000 pre-orders

edit
forgot to say that IMHO,
that number will prolley be for at least 3 YEARS production
.
 
#18 ·
via Perian @ GMI

C&D Employee Brings A Magnet To The Tesla 3 Unveiling...
Car & Driver

Aaron Robinson -April 1, 2016

...we don't have a whole lot more details about the Model 3.
Musk says the base model will have a 215-mile range and will accelerate from zero to 60
mph in less than six seconds. There also will be a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version. He
also promises that it will achieve five-star crash-test ratings and that Autopilot hardware
will be standard. The company is otherwise being very stingy with the details. For
example, it won’t tell us the sizes of the available batteries or what the car is made out of.

The Model S and Model X are primarily aluminum, but that’s an expensive material and,
at the Model 3’s price, a tough cost challenge. Even so, during our brief test ride, we quietly
touched a small magnet to various outer panels, the inner doors, and the structural pillar
between the doors and got not a single quiver of attraction. A Tesla engineer told us the car
is a mix of steel and aluminum but refused to elaborate. Unless the prototypes we sat in
were made from nonproduction materials, there’s not much steel in that body...

- - - - - - -

I'm wondering if anyone thought about FIBERGLASS?
.
 
#20 ·
I'm re-titling this article:
Why Everything about the Model 3 is WRONG
actual title=
"The Chevy Bolt has one gigantic advantage over the Tesla Model 3"

Yahoo/Business Insider
Matthew DeBord - 7 hours ago


...GM has something else going for it in the coming battle with Tesla.

It doesn't need to make money on the Bolt.

Tesla, by contrast, must make money on the Model 3.

Just one problem ...


...This sets up a nightmare scenario for Tesla. The Model 3 already looks as if it will be very successful...
...the cruel economics of the auto industry will make the Model 3 Tesla's least profitable vehicle. Of course, it will still have to build the Model 3, and it may even have to carve into Model S and Model X production to bring the Model 3 in on schedule....
 
#21 ·
RE: Dash and steering wheel:

http://jalopnik.com/what-secret-is-elon-musk-keeping-about-the-interior-of-1768894123


What Secret Is Elon Musk Keeping About The Interior Of The Tesla Model 3?

Michael Ballaban
Today 2:41pm

We saw the unveiling of the Tesla Model 3 last week. Or rather, we thought we saw the unveiling. Everything looked great, especially the crazy futuristic interior. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk unleashed a series of cryptic tweets yesterday on the topic, and now we don’t know what to think.

It’s not like we’re surprised we’d be hearing more about the Model 3, either. Musk has said for a while that last week’s event was only “part one” of the car’s debut, and that a second part was coming. In the mould of legacy automakers, it’d be easy to guess what was in part two. Maybe a few trim levels, something toned down for production, even a hotter version of the base model, if we got really lucky.

Brandon Valvo ‎@BValvsRacing
@elonmusk The lack of a dashboard/HUD is something that I don't think I could get used to. That's the only thing I don't like about the car.
Follow
Elon Musk ✔ ‎@elonmusk
@BValvsRacing It will make sense after part 2 of the Model 3 unveil
3:45 PM - 3 Apr 2016


Cosmin Davidoaia ‎@HBL_Cosmin
@elonmusk 1.Ferrari like steering wheel 2.Move stick functions(turn signals,horn,etc.) on a paddle shifter behind wheel. That would be cool!
Follow
Elon Musk ✔ ‎@elonmusk
@HBL_Cosmin Wait until you see the real steering controls and system for the 3. It feels like a spaceship.

Roman Pushkov ‎@iKrivetko
@elonmusk why did you choose that hideous steering wheel design?:|
Follow
Elon Musk ✔ ‎@elonmusk
@iKrivetko that's not the real steering system
MORE AT LINK
 
#25 ·
There's a lot of similarity to the airline industry in Tesla's sales model, taking deposits for product that hasn't even completed the design stage, booking sales years in advance of delivery, no franchise dealers. Phenomenal if you can get away with it, I just wonder how long will the shine last for Tesla? Right now they're the big dog in a glamorous, popular industry with no true competition. Will they have built that Apple/BMW like aura by the time real competition begins changing the market more rapidly?
 
#30 · (Edited)
That's 325,000 people who're highly unlikely to be in the market for a Bolt. GM and their fanboys can dismiss this and talk about the long wait to get one but all of that just says to me that people are willing to pay more, be that in time waited, or cash outlay for something that's visually pleasing. I think to many companies got caught up in the Prius success and believed that style was a secondary consideration for hybrid byers. I that may be true to a point, but you also have to take into account Toyota buyers in general have proven to be accepting of styleless appliances, that in no way means the larger market is too.
 
#35 ·
GMI News April 8, 2016
...(#4)...Odds to Collect the Federal Tax Credit

Unless the U.S. Congress grants an extension, the three biggest plug-in electrified vehicle (PEV) sellers in the U.S. – GM, Nissan, and Tesla – are approaching a 200,000 unit cap per manufacturer in the next couple of years or so. After that, the $7,500 potential benefit starts to fade, being cut to $3,750 for two quarters, then $1,875 for two quarters, then zero.

Between Tesla and GM, the Bolt will benefit by being first on sale. By the beginning of 2017 when Bolt sales are beginning, it’s estimated GM may have used about 123,000-130,000 federal credits, based on PEV sales projections by analyst Alan Baum plus known sales to date.

This could mean GM – splitting sales with Volt and Bolt and possibly other PEVs – may be able to sell only 30,000-50,000 Bolts eligible for the full $7,500 federal credit, depending on how things actually go – but Tesla buyers may be no better off.

Through March, Tesla has sold an estimated 71,610 units out of its 200,000. With Tesla’s 2016 guidance seeing an aggressive stretch goal of Model X and Model S sales, the company wants to increase global deliveries from under 52,000 last year to 80,000-90,000 or so this year.

If Tesla’s U.S. sales this year grow commensurately, that could mean somewhere in the low 40,000 range give or take a few thousand. Assuming continued growth for 2017, by end of that year when the Model 3 is projected, Tesla could have 40,000 more or less credits to split between the Model S, X and Model 3. Assuming Tesla is not late to production, odds are that fewer than 25,000 Model 3 buyers will get the full $7,500 credit before it tapers to half and half again for four quarters after the 200,000 is hit.
 
#36 ·
^...The difference between the Model S, X and 3 and the Bolt is that I know I would buy the Tesla with or without the tax credit, but the $37,500 Bolt......not.

Then again CA has new rules in place..

The new rules, adopted on July 1, outline that an individual making less than 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Limit ($35,310) or a family of three earning less than $60,270 are eligible for a $4,000 rebate for an EV (up from $2,500), $3,000 for a plug-in hybrid (up from $1,500), or $6,500 for a fuel-cell vehicle.
 
#38 ·
Model 3's sparse interior may be key to hitting cost, production targets
Automotive News

David Undercoffler - April 12, 2016

...Bringing the EV to market by the end of 2017, hitting its $35,000 target base price and doing all this at volumes the automaker never has achieved? It sounds, well, problematic.

But helping Tesla's cause is the remarkably straightforward interior design. There's no instrument panel in front of the driver. No tangible buttons or remote knobs, levers or touchpads controlling any screens built into the dashboard.

Instead, a single touch screen, 15 inches wide, protrudes from the center console. It controls nearly every ancillary function not related to driving the car...

...Musk promises that Tesla will announce more details on the Model 3 closer to its production date, in part two of the car's unveiling. That news "takes things to another level" the CEO said in a March 30 tweet.

Four days later, Musk tweeted that the lack of dashboard or head-up display will "make sense" at that point.

This secondary debut will include a look at the Model 3's production steering wheel and system, which wasn't shown at the car's launch in March.

"It feels like a spaceship," the SpaceX founder said in another tweet.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top