$35,000 Tesla Model III Is Coming In 2017

[Kaido]

Good article:

https://bloomberg.com/news/features...-s-model-3-became-elon-musk-s-version-of-hell

 

[Kaido]

Model 3 configurator now live:

https://3.tesla.com/model3/design#battery

Looks like $80k is the max ceiling now:

• Model 3 Performance Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive: $64,000
• Red Multi-Coat Paint: $1,500
• Performance Upgrade: $5,000 (20’’ Performance Wheels, Carbon Fiber Spoiler, Performance Pedals, Premium Interior)
• Premium White: $1,500
• Enhanced Autopilot: $5,000
• Full Self-Driving Capability: $3,000

Additional notes:

• $7,500 Federal tax rebate is still available
• $2,500 down payment is required
• Enhanced Autopilot is a $6,000 upgrade after delivery, so you save $1,000 by including it with your order
• Full Self-Driving Capability is a $5,000 upgrade after delivery, so you save $2,000 by pre-ordering it
• You can save $1,500 by going with the black interior instead of the white6
• Solid black paint is free, Midnight Silver Metallic/Obsidian Black Metallic/Deep Blue Metallic/Silver Metallic is a $1,000 option, and Pearl White Multi-Coat/Red Multi-Coat is $1,500. Would be curious to see solid black vs. obsidian black metallic in person.
• Going with the 18’’ Aero Wheels & no performance upgrades saves another $5,000
• RWD is $49k, dual-motor AWD is $53k, and Performance dual-motor AWD is $64k
  
• Standard battery is not currently available (says 6 to 9 months)

tbh, $80k seems like a pretty good deal for a car that can go zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds. That's pretty insane for an off-the-shelf configuration. Plus you get FSD in the future (fingers crossed, lol), which no other car currently offers. So $35k to $80k is the range, which means that you have $45k worth of options to play with.

 

[rstrohkirch]

Just for reference, $80k is around the price point where you're easily getting suvs and cars in the 3.5-4 second 0-60 time.

 

[ponyo]

Just for reference, $80k is around the price point where you're easily getting suvs and cars in the 3.5-4 second 0-60 time.

Performance dual motor with performance upgrade and enhanced autopilot is $74,000. After $7,500 federal tax credit, it's $66,500. And if you remove the $5,000 autopilot option which no other car besides Tesla have, it's $69,000 or $61,500 after $7,500 tax credit. That's crazy amount of performance sedan you're getting for the price. BMW M3 and others can't match the performance and is more expensive.

But if I was buying Tesla, I would pay to enable autopilot. That's a must option IMO and separates Tesla from the rest.

 

[herm0016]

Performance dual motor with performance upgrade and enhanced autopilot is $74,000. After $7,500 federal tax credit, it's $66,500. And if you remove the $5,000 autopilot option which no other car besides Tesla have, it's $69,000 or $61,500 after $7,500 tax credit. That's crazy amount of performance sedan you're getting for the price. BMW M3 and others can't match the performance and is more expensive.

But if I was buying Tesla, I would pay to enable autopilot. That's a must option IMO and separates Tesla from the rest.

ohhh.. and hand built on a hastily put together "assembly line" in the teslatent in his parking lot too!

I'm sure the quality coming from the tent will be stellar! and you still get to wait a few months....

or you can walk into a Chevy dealer with 35k and drive off in a bolt built in a proper factory in under an hour....

 

[ponyo]

ohhh.. and hand built on a hastily put together "assembly line" in the teslatent in his parking lot too!

I'm sure the quality coming from the tent will be stellar! and you still get to wait a few months....

or you can walk into a Chevy dealer with 35k and drive off in a bolt built in a proper factory in under an hour....

Might be a reason why you can buy a Bolt. If you ask 100 people if they want Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3, I bet 99 will say Model 3. Just like Model S and Model X now dominate the luxury car market, Model 3 will dominate premium midsize market. BMW and Mercedes will see big decrease in 3 series and C class sales and will be hurting. Just wait.

 

[Kaido]

Just for reference, $80k is around the price point where you're easily getting suvs and cars in the 3.5-4 second 0-60 time.

I need a 3.5-second SUV in my life

 

[monkeydelmagico]

BMW M3 and others can't match the performance and is more expensive.

I thought the model 3 was supposed to be an affordable EV with triple digit range. Could have sworn that was what it was billed as initially......

If it's now morphed into a small sports sedan competitor instead that's going to be a much tougher nut for Elon and Co. to crack.

Just like Model S and Model X now dominate the luxury car market, Model 3 will dominate premium midsize market. BMW and Mercedes will see big decrease in 3 series and C class sales and will be hurting. Just wait.

If by dominate the market you mean selling a fraction of the numbers BMW and Mercedes sell then yes, Tesla owns all.....

 

[Kaido]

ohhh.. and hand built on a hastily put together "assembly line" in the teslatent in his parking lot too!

I'm sure the quality coming from the tent will be stellar! and you still get to wait a few months....

I looked into their tent supplier & was actually really impressed with what I found:

http://sprung.com

I've actually recommend looking into Sprung Structures now to a couple of my computer clients for additional buildings that they need to go up quickly. I was initially a little skeptical, because the last I had heard about fabric structures was the collapse of the Cowboy's facility:

https://www.athleticbusiness.com/at...cate-following-cowboys-facility-collapse.html

But there are different levels of quality to fabric structures, just like regular house designs - some houses are cheap double-wides that fall apart easily & some are well-designed homes that will last hundreds of years. From what I've read, the Sprung Structures facilities are actually pretty dang awesome.

 

[Kaido]

Might be a reason why you can buy a Bolt. If you ask 100 people if they want Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model 3, I bet 99 will say Model 3. Just like Model S and Model X now dominate the luxury car market, Model 3 will dominate premium midsize market. BMW and Mercedes will see big decrease in 3 series and C class sales and will be hurting. Just wait.

I test-drove a Bolt about a year ago. It's a really nice car (although the fishtailing on wet roads worried me to the point where I didn't take one home, plus no TACC/LKAS/etc., which was really weird), but if you're going to spend that kind of money on an electric car, why not get a self-driving one? Even if you don't pay for it now, you can always throw money at the software unlock in the future since it already has all of the hardware required for it built into every Model 3.

 

[ponyo]

I thought the model 3 was supposed to be an affordable EV with triple digit range. Could have sworn that was what it was billed as initially......

If it's now morphed into a small sports sedan competitor instead that's going to be a much tougher nut for Elon and Co. to crack.



If by dominate the market you mean selling a fraction of the numbers BMW and Mercedes sell then yes, Tesla owns all.....

$35k Model 3 is coming. It just won't be until 2019. And Tesla is definitely dominating at the high end. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/22/tesla-model-s-crushes-luxury-car-competition-in-usa/
Even in Europe, Model S is now outselling German luxury. http://europe.autonews.com/article/...-s-outsells-german-luxury-flagships-in-europe

Model 3 will 100% hurt BMW 3 series and MB C class sales worldwide. I predict Model 3 will overtake BMW 3 series sales worldwide next year.

 

[Brovane]

ohhh.. and hand built on a hastily put together "assembly line" in the teslatent in his parking lot too!

I'm sure the quality coming from the tent will be stellar! and you still get to wait a few months....

or you can walk into a Chevy dealer with 35k and drive off in a bolt built in a proper factory in under an hour....

Jan-June 2018 - US EV Sales - Model 3 - 24,367 and Chevy Bolt - 7,858. Looks like not much demand for the Bolt.

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

 

[monkeydelmagico]

$35k Model 3 is coming. It just won't be until 2019. And Tesla is definitely dominating at the high end. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/22/tesla-model-s-crushes-luxury-car-competition-in-usa/

Model 3 will 100% hurt BMW 3 series and MB C class sales worldwide. I predict Model 3 will overtake BMW 3 series sales worldwide next year.

Bold prediction. You do realize the entire premise of the article you linked is flawed right? The model S isn't a "large" luxury sedan.

 

[Pantoot]

$35k Model 3 is coming. It just won't be until 2019. And Tesla is definitely dominating at the high end. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/22/tesla-model-s-crushes-luxury-car-competition-in-usa/

Model 3 will 100% hurt BMW 3 series and MB C class sales worldwide. I predict Model 3 will overtake BMW 3 series sales worldwide next year.

I am as big a tesla fan as you will find, but I don't think you can really compare the S to the "large luxury" segment. A more fair comparison would be to the E/5 classes where it is certainly holding its own, but not dominating.
As far as the model 3 overtaking the bmw 3, I think there are too many people that would have difficulty finding home/work charging solutions to make that happen. To me the best thing about owning an S is waking up every morning with a full battery and there are just too many apartment/condo/renters that would struggle with that.

 

[ponyo]

I test-drove a Bolt about a year ago. It's a really nice car (although the fishtailing on wet roads worried me to the point where I didn't take one home, plus no TACC/LKAS/etc., which was really weird), but if you're going to spend that kind of money on an electric car, why not get a self-driving one? Even if you don't pay for it now, you can always throw money at the software unlock in the future since it already has all of the hardware required for it built into every Model 3.

Tesla fast charging Supercharger network along with its self-driving tech and software is its moat and ace card. Why would I buy another EV which has inferior slower charging and virtually zero charging network and has the same boring tech as any ICE car? As more competitors release their EV, Tesla's lead in software tech and huge charging advantage will become more apparent.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Tesla fast charging Supercharger network along with its self-driving tech and software is its moat and ace card.

Except when it isn't. More like a ring of pointy sticks or a one eyed jack. The supercharge network is still in it's infancy and has competition. The self drive tech is also nascent and has significant legal and regulatory hurdles to overcome.

Hate to be the con to your pro on this stuff because I still have high hopes for the future of EV and self driving cars. I'm just not so sure any more if Tesla and Elon are the right company or people to be the torch bearers.

 

[ponyo]

Except when it isn't. More like a ring of pointy sticks or a one eyed jack. The supercharge network is still in it's infancy and has competition. The self drive tech is also nascent and has significant legal and regulatory hurdles to overcome.

Hate to be the con to your pro on this stuff because I still have high hopes for the future of EV and self driving cars. I'm just not so sure any more if Tesla and Elon are the right company or people to be the torch bearers.

Show me Supercharger competitor and their charging speed and map of installed locations. And show me anything close to Tesla Enhanced Autopilot tech from BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, etc. Doesn't exist. That Jaguar EV that's supposed to be Tesla killer has slow charging, no road charge stations, and no Autopilot equivalent. Tesla Autopilot and Superchargers are available now.

 

[XavierMace]

Show me Supercharger competitor and their charging speed and map of installed locations. And show me anything close to Tesla Enhanced Autopilot tech from BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, etc. Doesn't exist. That Jaguar EV that's supposed to be Tesla killer has slow charging, no road charge stations, and no Autopilot equivalent. Tesla Autopilot and Superchargers are available now.

You're right, you win. I looked and I can't find any driving assists from BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, etc, driving into a concrete barrier.

 

[ponyo]

You're right, you win. I looked and I can't find any driving assists from BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, etc, driving into a concrete barrier.

Just wait about 5 years. You should start seeing BMW, MB, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, etc. driving into concrete barriers too as they copy and try to play catch up to Tesla's current Autopilot tech. Meanwhile Tesla might have full self-driving capability by then while their competitors try to master version 1 or 2 of Tesla current Autopilot.

 

[NutBucket]

I'll jump back into this. In general while some people are likely to cross-shop a Model3 and 3-series, they're very different cars. Tesla's main selling point is battery tech and autonomy. Style/comfort/luxury wise, it's a no-contest win for any of the European makes. The same is true for the Model S and any of the Euro luxo-barges.

 

[XavierMace]

What Musk needs to do is patent whatever koolaid they hand out to their fan club. They make Apple fans look sane.

 

[herm0016]

GM has super cruise on the Caddies, from what i hear, its got as much capability as teslas systems, but they are much more focused on keeping liability low.

the bolt has lane keeping and most of the other stuff available. i don't see automatic adjusting cruise control though.

one truth: there is no competition for the charging network.

 

[Brovane]

I am kind of surprised that this being a tech-board that more people here don't understand the advantage that Tesla has with it's Auto-Pilot over other systems.

True autonomous capability for cars is going to be dependent on machine learning, no way around it. To many variables to use conventional methods. In machine learning, "He with the most high quality data wins". Because of the two way communication the Tesla cars on the road are acting as data gathers for Tesla of real world conditions. https://electrek.co/2017/06/14/tesla-autopilot-data-floodgates/ No other manufacturer currently does this type of continuous data gathering. This gives Tesla a huge advantage over every other auto manufacturer autonomous driving systems.

 

[manly]

What Musk needs to do is patent whatever koolaid they hand out to their fan club. They make Apple fans look sane.

I've read that experts don't think this is sustainable, ironically.

It's one thing for BEV early adopters willing to shell out $100k for a Model X to tolerate some bugs/QA issues/teething pains. These buyers know this going in and are prepared to deal with it. They'll post videos on YT when they have recurring problems that take several attempts (and sometimes tweets) to fix, and they really aren't all that mad about the situation. They know that at $100k ASP, they are the Joneses and everyone else aspires to be like them.

However, the unkempt masses? They're already stretching their budgets when buying a capable, well-performing but somewhat average build quality mid-size car for upwards of $50k. After tolerating such a long delay just to get the car, they won't be so understanding of issues. For mainstream car buyers, this will be their daily driver and becoming friends of the service department is never desirable.

Having said that, there was a story of a guy who received his Model 3 months ago. The front hood was literally recessed, but once delivery is accepted, the owner has limited recourse (no cooling off period in the U.S.). The car is under warranty, but if I remember the story correctly, the owner deduced that the type of body work required to fix the issue would accelerate depreciation. So in the end, despite the problem, he decided doing nothing was his best option.

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/sunk-in-hood.107083/

Clearly, that should never pass inspection and Tesla probably wastes more money on the repair than if they fixed the manufacturing error. But who has time for that when you're in production hell and desperately trying to build 5k Model 3's per week?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I am kind of surprised that this being a tech-board that more people here don't understand the advantage that Tesla has with it's Auto-Pilot over other systems.

Of course we do. All I can say is it better start learning faster. The well has already been poisoned and the public doesn't want to be subjected to ongoing fatal flaws. We get a few more bad outcomes regardless of if it's Google, Waymo, Uber, Tesla, etc. and congress or the NTSB will have to drop the ban hammer until such time as these science experiments can show more robust reliability in trials. That would stymie progress badly and I hope very much it doesn't come to that.

One of the better articles I've read on the intersection of science and regulation: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/0...f-driving-cars-is-broken-heres-how-to-fix-it/