Posted on 03/31/2016 10:52:07 PM PDT by goldstategop
Tesla has unveiled its much-anticipated Model 3 electric car - its lowest-cost vehicle to date.
The company's chief executive Elon Musk said the five-seater would start at $35,000 (£24,423) and have a range of at least 215 miles (346km) per charge.
He added that his goal was to produce about 500,000 vehicles a year once production got up to full speed.
The California-based company needs the vehicle to prove popular if it is to stay in business.
The first deliveries of the vehicle are scheduled to start in late 2017, and it can be ordered in advance in dozens of countries, including the UK, Ireland, Brazil, India, China and New Zealand.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
115,000 pre orders in 3 hours.
Another Panamera wannabe...
Maybe one day....it will catch on. But I question where all these extra electricity will come from and at what cost. If just one out of every ten new cars bought were a Tesla....it would worry the Saudis greatly.
this could help reduce trade deficit
need to get the city here in philly to have chargin posts all around my hood. I’ll buy one when the range is 500m per charge and then plug in to the city. great stuff. zoom zoom oh the cities dime.
lots of superchargers around, so no need for 500m. 200m is more than enough
I’m not sure the Model 3 qualifies as “the first electric car for the masses”. It won’t be here until 2018 if Tesla misses its deadlines as per usual. The Chevy Bolt will be here before then as well as the Kia Soul and the existing Leaf and Fiat 500 — all at around this price point. Of course the price point is predicated on Tesla getting its own battery factory built in NV so it doesn’t need the more expensive Panasonic cells the model S and X are using.
It certainly is prettier than a Leaf or a Fiat 500e. And the Leaf won’t accelerate to 60mph in 4 seconds and doesn’t have 200+ mile range.
I just hope they make an electric motor retrofit kit for my Honda Element. I love that damn thing. I have no desire to buy another car. It’s like my Millennium Falcon ... It looks like junk but it has it where it counts :-).
Right, if only we could charge 50 million of these without crippling the electrical grid and making our electric bills exceed our mortgages.
I like the Super Charger on my 454 CI Suburban!
More than enough for commuting and around town trips.
If you need to go further, rent a car.
I’ll keep my car thank you.
The price to rent a car for long term - and that’s what it would be if you’re going that far and back, would be prohibitive in such a scenario.
There is no free electric anything and that’s another thing that would skyrocket (tip of the hat to Obama) as we quickly run out of capacity
I bought a an Element new in 2003.
Loved it! I had a small, 12 volt cooler between the front seats with a cushioned top that actually looked stock and kept thing cool on long trips.
Unfortunately it was too small for my needs and I sold it and bought a Ridgeline in 2007. I need the utility of a pickup.
Last month we picked up an new Pilot for my wife. I mentioned to the sales manager that I used to have an Element.
‘Those things are great! We can’t get enough of ‘em!’
Truly great automobiles, those Elements. Every time I see one I smile.
Safe journeys!
Why spend $30,000 for an around town car? If you drive that short, buy a beater and save $25,000.
If I own a car, I want to drive it when and wherever I want, not limited by a battery.
Is that before or after the boondoggle government subsidies?
We absolutely love our Ridgeline.
Sweet things, these Ridgelines.
I like the Super Charger on my 2003 GMC Envoy w/a 4200 I-6!
Sumnabitch SCREAMS 0-70mph and easily tops 110 before the trans starts floating. 93,000 miles on it and still going strong!
Still, $35k for a Tesla? Call me crazy but I kinda like it. Going to be light years better than anything else I can buy at that price point. I drive a whopping 7.5 miles a day so 200m range works for me easily.
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