Tesla produces very first lower-cost Model three cars
by DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Tesla Model three delivery event took place on Friday, July 28. The electrified car company’s newest vehicle is half the cost of previous models. It has a $35,000 beginning price and 215-mile range. (Pic courtesy of Tesla Inc.)
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
Tesla Inc. has ultimately made its long-promised affordable electrical car. But it could take years to get it to all the people who want to buy it.
Tesla delivered the Model three petite car to its very first thirty customers — all employees — at a company party Friday night. CEO Elon Musk said Tesla will build the cars as swift as it can, but acknowledged that supply issues and other complexities will make it rough to reach his aim of making 500,000 cars next year. Fourteen-year-old Tesla has never made more than 100,000 cars in a year.
“We’re going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell,” Musk told reporters Friday at Tesla’s Fremont factory. “It’s going to be fairly a challenge to build this car.”
With its $35,000 commencing price — half the cost of Tesla’s previous models — and range of up to three hundred ten miles (498 km), the Model three could bring hundreds of thousands of customers into the automaker’s fold, taking it from a niche luxury brand to the mainstream.
Musk said around 500,000 people worldwide have already put down a $1,000 deposit to reserve a Model Three. People ordering a car now likely won’t get it until late 2018. Cars will go very first to employees and customers on the West Coast; overseas deliveries begin late next year, and right-hand drive versions come in 2019.
The Model three has long been part of Palo Alto, California-based Tesla’s plans. In 2006, Musk said Tesla would eventually build “affordably priced family cars” after establishing itself with high-end vehicles like the Model S, which starts at $Sixty-nine,500. This is the very first time many Tesla workers will be able to afford a Tesla.
“It was never our aim to make expensive cars. We desired to make a car everyone could buy,” Musk said. “If you’re attempting to make a difference in the world, you also need to make cars people can afford.”
For the base price, customers will get a Model three with two hundred twenty miles (322 km) of range. But the price can rapidly increase from there. Black is the only standard color, for example; any other color is $1,000 extra. A fully loaded Model three with three hundred ten miles of range and Tesla’s total semi-autonomous Autopilot system costs a hefty $59,500.
That could be a open up for some buyers, especially since there are thresholds on the $7,500 U.S. tax credit for electrical cars. Once an automaker sells 200,000 electrified cars in the U.S., the credit phases out. Tesla has already sold more than 126,000 vehicles since 2008, according to estimates by WardsAuto, so not everyone who buys a Model three will be eligible.
Potential customers also could lose faith if Tesla doesn’t meet its aggressive production schedule, or if the cars have quality problems that strain Tesla’s puny service network. The compact Model three may not entice a global market that’s increasingly shifting to SUVs, including all-electric SUVs from Audi and others going on sale soon.
“There are more reasons to think that it won’t be successful than it will,” says Karl Brauer, the executive publisher for Cox Automotive, which possesses Autotrader and other car buying sites.
But Musk says Tesla worked hard to make the Model three simpler and cheaper to make than Tesla’s previous vehicles. It has one dashboard screen, not two. It doesn’t have the fancy door treats that caused problems on the Model S, or the gull-wing doors of the Model X SUV. It’s made primarily of steel, not aluminum. It has no instrument panel; the speed limit and other information normally there can be found on the center screen. It doesn’t even have a key fob; drivers can open and lock the car with a smartphone or a key card.
Tesla’s fans are certain. Robin Santucci was one of the very first in line to order a Model three at the Santa Monica, California, Tesla store in March 2016. He still doesn’t know when he’ll get a car or exactly what it will look like, but he’s already installed charging equipment in his garage.
“I believe in the vision Tesla has,” said Santucci, who works in digital advertising.
Sam Abuelsamid, a senior researcher with Navigant Research, said even if it doesn’t meet its ambitious targets, Tesla has done more than anyone to promote electrified vehicles.
“A decade ago they were a little more than golf carts. Now all of a unexpected, EVs are real, practical vehicles that can be used for anything,” he said.
Tesla produces very first lower-cost Model three cars, WRSP
Tesla supplies very first lower-cost Model three cars
by DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Tesla Model three delivery event took place on Friday, July 28. The electrified car company’s newest vehicle is half the cost of previous models. It has a $35,000 beginning price and 215-mile range. (Pic courtesy of Tesla Inc.)
VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
Tesla Inc. has eventually made its long-promised affordable electrical car. But it could take years to get it to all the people who want to buy it.
Tesla delivered the Model three puny car to its very first thirty customers — all employees — at a company party Friday night. CEO Elon Musk said Tesla will build the cars as rapid as it can, but acknowledged that supply issues and other complexities will make it harsh to reach his purpose of making 500,000 cars next year. Fourteen-year-old Tesla has never made more than 100,000 cars in a year.
“We’re going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell,” Musk told reporters Friday at Tesla’s Fremont factory. “It’s going to be fairly a challenge to build this car.”
With its $35,000 commencing price — half the cost of Tesla’s previous models — and range of up to three hundred ten miles (498 km), the Model three could bring hundreds of thousands of customers into the automaker’s fold, taking it from a niche luxury brand to the mainstream.
Musk said around 500,000 people worldwide have already put down a $1,000 deposit to reserve a Model Three. People ordering a car now likely won’t get it until late 2018. Cars will go very first to employees and customers on the West Coast; overseas deliveries commence late next year, and right-hand drive versions come in 2019.
The Model three has long been part of Palo Alto, California-based Tesla’s plans. In 2006, Musk said Tesla would eventually build “affordably priced family cars” after establishing itself with high-end vehicles like the Model S, which starts at $Sixty nine,500. This is the very first time many Tesla workers will be able to afford a Tesla.
“It was never our purpose to make expensive cars. We wished to make a car everyone could buy,” Musk said. “If you’re attempting to make a difference in the world, you also need to make cars people can afford.”
For the base price, customers will get a Model three with two hundred twenty miles (322 km) of range. But the price can rapidly increase from there. Black is the only standard color, for example; any other color is $1,000 extra. A fully loaded Model three with three hundred ten miles of range and Tesla’s utter semi-autonomous Autopilot system costs a hefty $59,500.
That could be a spread for some buyers, especially since there are thresholds on the $7,500 U.S. tax credit for electrified cars. Once an automaker sells 200,000 electrified cars in the U.S., the credit phases out. Tesla has already sold more than 126,000 vehicles since 2008, according to estimates by WardsAuto, so not everyone who buys a Model three will be eligible.
Potential customers also could lose faith if Tesla doesn’t meet its aggressive production schedule, or if the cars have quality problems that strain Tesla’s petite service network. The compact Model three may not entice a global market that’s increasingly shifting to SUVs, including all-electric SUVs from Audi and others going on sale soon.
“There are more reasons to think that it won’t be successful than it will,” says Karl Brauer, the executive publisher for Cox Automotive, which possesses Autotrader and other car buying sites.
But Musk says Tesla worked hard to make the Model three simpler and cheaper to make than Tesla’s previous vehicles. It has one dashboard screen, not two. It doesn’t have the fancy door treats that caused problems on the Model S, or the gull-wing doors of the Model X SUV. It’s made primarily of steel, not aluminum. It has no instrument panel; the speed limit and other information normally there can be found on the center screen. It doesn’t even have a key fob; drivers can open and lock the car with a smartphone or a key card.
Tesla’s fans are certain. Robin Santucci was one of the very first in line to order a Model three at the Santa Monica, California, Tesla store in March 2016. He still doesn’t know when he’ll get a car or exactly what it will look like, but he’s already installed charging equipment in his garage.
“I believe in the vision Tesla has,” said Santucci, who works in digital advertising.
Sam Abuelsamid, a senior researcher with Navigant Research, said even if it doesn’t meet its ambitious targets, Tesla has done more than anyone to promote electrified vehicles.
“A decade ago they were a little more than golf carts. Now all of a unexpected, EVs are real, practical vehicles that can be used for anything,” he said.