Tesla targets March 2016 for $35K Tesla Model 3 unveiling

Share This Article

The average selling price of a new car in the US these days is $33,500, according to Kelley Blue Book. That’s not chump change, but it buys a lot of value. It’s roughly the price of a loaded-with-tech Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, or Toyota Camry, a bit above top-level Civics and Mazda 3s, and the starting point for entry-level BMW, Mercedes, and Audi models — although the latter often go out the door for much more, thanks to giant option sheets, and the fact that the Germans purposely make all sorts of things expensive options that come standard on mainstream cars, like backup cameras, leather seats, Bluetooth, and USB ports. (Or if you’re VW/Audi, you still don’t even offer USB ports.)

So it’s significant that Tesla is still targeting $35K for its upcoming electric 3 Series fighter, the Model 3. And earlier this week, CEO and real-life Tony Stark character Elon Musk set March 2016 for its official unveiling, 10 months from now, in a conference call with financial analysts. An SEC filing in late April made it seem like the Model 3 will at least miss the 2017 model year, thanks to limits in manufacturing capacity. And Tesla certainly isn’t known for meeting its release date targets.

The discussion always comes back to the price tag, though. It will make the Model 3 the least expensive Tesla ever — half that of the current base Model S 70D — but it certainly won’t be the least expensive electric car. The Nissan Leaf, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and lately with rebates, the Chevrolet Volt, all undercut it. But Tesla has the wind at its back, and the $35K Model 3 could really change the market for electric vehicles. Tesla is seen as a premium brand, and it’s pulling all sorts of stuff traditional automakers can’t, including direct sales, over-the-air (OTA) OS updates, a sophisticated super-fast charging network, and an ownership experience free of dealerships that profit on service. It’s any wonder people think Apple should buy the company.

We still have no idea what the Model 3 will look like. All of the photos floating around are renderings. You can bet that a $35,000 Tesla won’t have autonomous driving, and it probably won’t crack the Model S‘s 270-mile range, although Musk has indicated 200 miles as a target — still way more than the Leaf and competing lower-cost models offer. The Volt always delivered more range, but it has a small gasoline engine that charges the batteries and occasionally helps power the car, so it’s a little more like a plug-in hybrid.

But we could easily picture a sleek, 178-inch-long version of the Model S with a still-giant touch screen on the center console and enough horsepower for a sprint to 60mph in 6.5 seconds or so. It will also be a good complement to the upcoming Model X all-wheel-drive crossover (shown above), which will go up against the BMW i3 and likely kill it on range, as a 1-2 strategy for moving downmarket. Right now, a lot of the focus is on Tesla’s push intohome backup energy with the Powerwall. If Tesla can pull off what Mercedes did with the CLA — make a gorgeous smaller car, even if it’s flawed in some ways — with the Model 3, the company may have to find a way to expand its automotive manufacturing capacity in a hurry.

Source:http://www.extremetech.com/