Tesla Model 3

[Dr Mordrid]

Tesla Model 3 introed tonight

$35k, $27.5k after EV credits

0-60 in 6 seconds, 215 miles/charge

115,000 150,000 ordered in the first 24 hours

[dZeus]

Nice! What are the production costs? In good tesla fashion, probably 40K+ USD ?

I wonder what's better for the environment, a cheating polluting VW diesel, or an electric car?.

[Dr Mordrid]

Base price is $35k, average ordered car with options is $42k, and they've now taken over 200,000 orders. That's about $8.4 billion in orders overnight.

Good thing there battery Gigafactory in Reno and the new production lines in California are coming online soon.

[Elie]

I'm not liking the grill-less front end. People are saying it looks like Keanu Reeves without a mouth in the Matrix

[Jammrock]

My only concern about the Model 3 is whether the reduced range will make it capable of road trips in the US. There are already holes in the Supercharger network that make trips in the 270 mile range Model S risky. At 215 miles there are some road trips that may not be possible.

Though the update map makes it look like Tesla is aware of this and working on enough new stations to make the Model 3 viable. If the 2016 expansions go as planned, the 2017 release of the Model 3 could be exciting.

And yes, the nose is ugly. At least in the photos.

[Dr Mordrid]

Why have a nose grill if there's no radiator? It also spoils the aerodynamics. It'd also be worse if it were pointy wrt to the ease of damaging it.

The Supercharger network is growing FAST, targeting over 15,000 worldwide, but 95%+ of all driving is <50 miles a day anyhow. Out west has more a problem than anywhere else.

March 2016

[VJ]

Why have a nose grill if there's no radiator? It also spoils the aerodynamics. It'd also be worse if it were pointy wrt to the ease of damaging it.

True... but then why give it the shape of a grill and omitting it? The line that runs below the headlines could have just continued the entire width...
But a small detail on a nice car... I'm surprised how extensive the charging network is in Europe, but here in Poland it is still lacking: 0 Tesla charging points, and just a few EV charging points on public parkings.

[cjolley]

Assuming these cars have AC, then there is at least one radiator. Also, the motors aren't perfectly efficient so waste heat from them has to be dealt with.
I wonder if that is really the final nose. Lots of States require a front licence tag.

Edit: the motors are liquid cooled, and so is the battery. Very interesting to read about.

[Elie]

Why have a nose grill if there's no radiator? It also spoils the aerodynamics. It'd also be worse if it were pointy wrt to the ease of damaging it.

I am thinking at least it should look like the model S front end, giving the illusion of a grill even if there's no radiator. Perhaps the front is not finished as Cjolley indicated.

[paulw]

As the preordered numbers are over 200 000 of these won't that mean no EV subsidies??

[Dr Mordrid]

The subsidy starts phasinng out 2 quarters after the sales pass 200k, dropping to 50% for 2 quarters then 25% for 2 more quarters.

Model 3 will get a grill, but the design wasn't finalized so they announced without it. Tesla now has over $14 billion in Model 3 orders.

Tesla is ramping up to 15,000 Superchargers worldwide and >4,000 in the US. A European factory is opening, France wants another, and China is on the very short list to feed the Asian market.

The Reno, NV battery Gigafactory is partially open while other parts are being finished, producing Powerwall home batteries for solar equipped homes.

The Buffalo NY Solar City advanced solar cell Gigafactory is almost finished, with more solar Gigafactories planned.

Also, a Tesla pickup truck is next.

[Elie]

Who knows the idea behind the different models of the Tesla cars? Why did Elon name the models like he did?

[VJ]

Well... the current range spells S3X, and the next one is rumored to be called Y...

[Elie]

Yes!
Apparently Elon Musk wanted to name the model 3 "Model E" but Ford was against it. So Elon reversed the E to make it a 3
The Model Y will be (from what i heard) a flying car model? I'm not sure.