Tesla Model III (3, Three) $35k

[Onyx_Z32]

Just starting a thread now so I can populate it with news. It should be released in 2017 but Model III is officially the name they’ve chosen.

Base model will have 200 mile range and take on the BMW 3-Series:

First Tesla Model 3 UK deliveries take place | Auto Express

@Elon Musk

We had the model S for sedan and X for crossover SUV, then a friend asked what we were going to call the third car, So I said we had the model S and X, we might as well have the E.

We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E – I thought this is crazy, Ford’s trying to kill sex! So we’ll have to think of another name.

The new model is going to be called Model III, we’ll have three bars to represent it and it’ll be S III X!

[Jam]

I absolutely love Elon musk :leghump:

[Coldaccord]

oh heck yes

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btw I hope to some day sell my m5 as a downpayment on a Model S

[JayS]

35k? Now we’re getting really close to mainstream. This will be very interesting, especially if the government kicks in some kind of zero emission tax credit to knock that 35k down to say 30k.

[Jon]

Price is in Volt territory,if I was in the market ,that would be a real tough decision. :lol:

[LUC1F3R]

I’m all over this when it comes out…now do I sell my G8 or the wife’s Caddy…

[Paulo]

@Jon

Price is in Volt territory,if I was in the market ,that would be a real tough decision. :lol:

Yeah but the Volt is slow as balls.

@Elon Musk"

“The Roadster had an old generation battery,” he told us. “We’ll upgrade it to a new generation battery pack and it should have a range of about 400 miles, which will allow you to drive from LA to San Francisco non-stop.”

I wonder if they plan to upgrade those for free. That would be a nice way to thank the people who got in on the ground floor.

[JayS]

@Paulo

Yeah but the Volt is slow as balls.

Maybe, but it has truly unlimited range which probably appeals to a lot more mainstream users than 0-60. The Volt is a little quicker to 60 than a Honda Civic and the general public doesn’t seem to have an issue with the Civic’s performance.

[LUC1F3R]

@JayS

Maybe, but it has truly unlimited range which probably appeals to a lot more mainstream users than 0-60. The Volt is a little quicker to 60 than a Honda Civic and the general public doesn’t seem to have an issue with the Civic’s performance.

I think having unlimited range isn’t a necessity in todays typical two car households.
Even the one car household buyer should realize that for the few times a year they need to travel more than 200 miles it may just make sense to rent a car. I took the same approach when buying my car instead of a truck, renting a truck a few times a year to transport materials for home projects is much more economical than owning one.

[JayS]

Yeah, I could definitely replace the GTO with Model 3. The longest trip I take regularly with it is Williamsville to Holiday Valley, 60 miles one way. The 200 mile range would scare me a bit, especially in the cold and the and because I would have taken the car to work that morning but HV just installed charge ports so letting it charge up for free while I was skiing for a few hours would in theory give me plenty of juice to get home.

Holiday Valley unveils electric vehicle charging station

Any of our longer family trips are done in the wife’s SUV anyway.

[Onyx_Z32]

There is supposed to be a supercharger station around here by years end… but I’ve seen no more info on it.

I’m hoping for a few things here:

1. That the car looks good like the Model S
2. That it has no less build quality than the S
3. That it has the same hatch back as the S
4. That it has a performance version

If it meets those qualities I’m interested.

[Blue_Eyed_Devil]

I get emails from Tesla, they want to hire me!

[Paulo]

@Onyx Z32

There is supposed to be a supercharger station around here by years end… but I’ve seen no more info on it.

I’m hoping for a few things here:

1. That the car looks good like the Model S
2. That it has no less build quality than the S
3. That it has the same hatch back as the S
4. That it has a performance version

If it meets those qualities I’m interested.

1 - Very likely. It’s obvious that these guys aren’t just trying to appeal to econo-box driving
2 - Definitely not going to happen. They already stated that certain things need to be drawn back a bit in order to meet that price point. Hopefully it won’t be by a long shot but there is no way that a mid 30k car will have the same build quality and materials as a 100k+ car.
3 - I want this too. :tup:
4 - Another very likely. See #1 .

This thing may take me out of my 335. (If I even still have it at that point) When they release more info and a solid price, I wouldn’t mind being one of the first people to order one.

[Onyx_Z32]

@Paulo

2 - Definitely not going to happen. They already stated that certain things need to be drawn back a bit in order to meet that price point.

I haven’t seen where they stated this. And the price point I thought was mostly based on a savings from new battery production over the S.

[bing]

@Blue Eyed Devil

I get emails from Tesla, they want to hire me!

go there… then get me in.

[theblue]

me thinks you won’t be able to buy one for less than mid 40s unless they go more econo on this.

[Onyx_Z32]

The primary reason the Model S is so expensive is the battery pack. Once that comes down, and it’s assumed that it will by the time this car is ready for production (Gigafactory, etc.) then so will the cost of entry.

If it’s supposed to compete with the 3-Series it has to do so on price as well as performance.

[Paulo]

@Onyx Z32

I haven’t seen where they stated this. And the price point I thought was mostly based on a savings from new battery production over the S.

I think I may have seen it either in an interview or at the shareholders meeting. I’ll see if I can find something. Either way, the battery alone can’t possibly make up for 70k in savings.

EDIT - There are also rumors about the body being steel instead of aluminum like the S but there isn’t any merit to that yet.

[LZ1]

@Paulo

1 - Very likely. It’s obvious that these guys aren’t just trying to appeal to econo-box driving
2 - Definitely not going to happen. They already stated that certain things need to be drawn back a bit in order to meet that price point. Hopefully it won’t be by a long shot but there is no way that a mid 30k car will have the same build quality and materials as a 100k+ car.
3 - I want this too. :tup:
4 - Another very likely. See #1 .

This thing may take me out of my 335. (If I even still have it at that point) When they release more info and a solid price, I wouldn’t mind being one of the first people to order one.

I thought the model S was 70k?

[superfan99]

If they can really get these down around 35K I might get one. $7,500 Tax credit(if that remains in effect) plus saving over 2k a year in fuel costs would make it a no brainer.

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@LZ

I thought the model S was 70k?

Canadian Price?