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Elon Musk Announces $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Electric Car
Elon Musk has officially unveiled the Tesla Model 3 electric car at the company's facility in Hawthorne, California. The Model 3 is being dubbed as a "mass market affordable car." The base-model Model 3 will be able to travel 0-60MPH in less than 6 seconds, with "versions of the Model 3 that go much faster." In terms of range, it features an EPA range of at least 215 miles per charge. All Model 3's will come standard with autopilot hardware and autopilot safety features. The Model 3 will also fit five adults comfortably, thanks largely in part to the large, rear piece of glass on the roof area. You'll find front and rear trunks, offering more cargo capacity than any cargo gas car with the same external dimensions. Safety is a big concern for Tesla so they've manufactured the Model 3 with a 5 star safety rating in every category. The Model 3 starts at $35,000 with a release date scheduled for 2017. Tesla will take your preorder now for a $1,000 down payment.
That is the average price for a new car.
Today, Tesla had lines of 900 people in Denver CO waiting 5 hours to put a down payment on the car. It was like that at all their dealerships. This is hotter than an iPhone.
A large percentage of cars sit in the same price range. Most can't afford anywhere near $35,000 in a single payment, but if it's financed, lots of people can. 115,000 already have, according to Musk. It's a good looking car, and good step in the right direction. This one car isn't going to bring electric cars to the poor, but it will enable Tesla to do so in the future.
Basically, affordable 5 - 10 years later when it's good and used. It's no shock that Elon's idea of affordable is anything but. It's the complete disconnect rich people have with the rest of the world showing itself.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
Maybe I shouldn't troll people so much, though it's part of Slashdot's storied tradition. Thankfully, April 1 is a holiday dedicated to people like me. Recommending the elimination of logged-in users was in jest, by the way.
In all seriousness, people are going to bitch no matter what you do or don't do. Even when it comes to something like eliminating Devshare, I'm sure there are a few developers who aren't happy to see it gone. You did absolutely the right thing by nixing Devshare, and I don't think there's much ambiguity, but someone will still find a reason to bitch. I'm a meteorologist in Tornado Alley, and I have friends on TV. I've heard of people in one town getting hit by a tornado, and two weeks later when the TV station interrupts shows for a tornado somewhere else, people in that first town write hateful letters and forget that they needed that coverage two weeks ago. It happens, even when you absolutely do the right thing.
There are things where there's an obvious right or wrong like no deceptive advertising. There are things where maybe something's maybe not totally right or wrong, but it's still pretty clear -- like a site about FOSS releasing their source code with an FOSS license, or a site opposing censorship not censoring opinions. For the most part, they're pretty clear cut, and for the most part they're somewhat important.
When it comes to story selection, people are going to bitch no matter what. They did the same thing to Malda since the beginning of Slashdot. They'll bitch that some users get too many stories accepted, that you're promoting biases, or that you're running Slashvertisements; none of these are actually going on, of course. Aside from keeping the stories to news for nerds, stuff that matters, there's no right or wrong way to post stories. You're the editors and you get to tell us what you think is interesting and worth discussing. That's always how Slashdot has been, from when Malda founded it. We get our say by submitting stories and recommending them by voting in the Firehose. Everything else is up to you guys, and you don't have anything to apologize for.
I know you've read a hell of a lot of comments and emails from people. I know there probably aren't that many people working behind the scenes at Slashdot and there's a long list of stuff to do. I know you guys are working hard and appreciate it. It's probably a thankless job most of the time, but sincere thanks for keeping Slashdot running and trying to improve it.
Thanks. Yeah Elon Musk called me up and said he'd write me a check for ONE MILLION dollars to run this story, because he said he really wanted the Slashdot AC's to hear about his new car, and because he said it wouldn't be covered anywhere else.
I laughed... would read again +8 :)
"Safety is a big concern for Tesla so they've manufactured the Model 3 with a 5 star safety rating in every category."
They haven't manufactured it at all yet. And they hope to get a 5 star rating. They don't award the starts themselves, so they'll have to do their best and wait and see what happens like anyone else.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
The love it in the Nordic countries. Seriously, it's huge over there.
Yep, tax gas cars enough and provide large enough EV incentives, and people will do that sort of thing...
Doesn't make it a rational market nor mean it will work elsewhere. :)
Sure, but if you're using it to commute and you have a decent commute, that $624 a month will be more like $424 a month with all the gas you're no longer buying. Lots of people have cars with payments in that range.
Maybe... But to save $200 per month, you need two things to happen...
1. Electricity has to be free... It isn't... it is cheaper than gas to be sure, but it isn't free...
But lets pretend it somehow is...
2. You'd have to drive more than 3,800 miles... a MONTH... to save $200 in gas...
Buy a Ford Fusion, spend half the price ($17,500 buys, after rebates, a nice Ford Fusion that carries 5 people), so end up with a payment of $310 a month.
Combined city/highway is 29 MPG. At $1.50 a gallon for gas, you're spending $1 for every 19.3 miles you drive.
If you average 12,000 miles a year (a reasonable number), that is 33 miles per day. So you're spending about $1.60 per day, or $48 per month in gas.
But keep in mind, if you don't drive at all for a week, go on vacation, get laid off, or change your driving, the payment remains.
Stop driving the Ford and the gas cost goes away.
Also, keep in mind that we assumed that wall power was free. The above numbers are worse in real life for the Tesla because:
1. Electricity isn't free
2. A home charger isn't free
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It is also worth noting that there are many lease programs on the Ford Fusion, I regularly see $199 a month lease deals with nothing due at signing. Just sign and drive.
Now you might say... "but, but, the Tesla isn't a Ford, it is fancy!" Maybe... but is it twice the money fancy? It is a box with 4 wheels that takes 5 people someplace.
They'll sell, but don't kid yourself, it is still expensive.
the cheapest you can get gas right now is more than $1.80/gallon. Most places in the US it's more than $2/gallon, so why did you use $1.50 for your calculations?
Yes, but that "average" includes a million pickup trucks, most of which are sold well over that average.
The "average" price of a F-150 these days is in the mid $40's, with higher end models near $60K.
I'm sorry, am I supposed to not understand how averages work, just because you live in Texas? I know y'all try to fuck up everyone else's textbooks, but the reason 35k is called an average is because some vehicles sell for more, and others sell for less. In particular, commercial vehicles damn well better cost more than average given the amount of tax writeoffs we're throwing at them. I'd sure hope they're providing more utility than a Nissan Versa. The least a lifted F-whatever with a gun rack and hay guard and brush guard and duallies and smokestack can do is haul a few hundred pounds of oilfield crap from the defunct jobsite.
Yes, but I'm paying $1.50 a gallon, so who cares?
The real problem is the lack of a SUV, that thing is WAY too small to be useful, at least in Texas.
Yeah, we all know how impressed Texans are with themselves and their obsession with size. While ignoring the SUV Tesla just released last year.
We know, it's too expensive for y'all. And by the way, you're dangerously close to "obviously troll" territory when you tout gas prices that have been in effect for, like, a month or two, and are far from a historical or recent average.
Out of sight, out of mind I guess.
That's the fundamental truth of a consumer society and it doesn't just apply to powering vehicles. Almost everything you buy will involve dubious if not downright unethical environmental or societal practices. They're just all hidden from view so as not to concern you.
And I admit to being just as guilty of being oblivious.
With "Nobody" you mean the about 33% electric energy, that comes from renewables for instance in Germany, the 80% in Austria and Switzerland and the 90% in Norway?
Even if the median is a decent bit lower, you still end up with plenty of Americans that can pay 35k for a new car- especially an electric one.
Yes, they CAN, but people who spend $35K+ on a car want more than a Ford Fusion or Toyota Camry.
BTW, I got an e-mail from my Ford dealer yesterday... offering a Ford Fusion for $15,998. There is a Toyota dealer here who has a billboard up for a base Camry for $17K.
$35k buyers expect more. For all the flash and pomp, the Model 3 is clearly not "more", at least for the base model.
Yep, tax gas cars enough and provide large enough EV incentives, and people will do that sort of thing...
Doesn't make it a rational market nor mean it will work elsewhere. :)
Purely "rational" / "homo economicus" behaviour is very far away in the mobility market even without EVs:
- Passenger trains are (often) subsidized directly and indirectly by not having to pay full cost for using rails, stations etc.
- Cars are subsidized indirectly by building roads, but taxed directly with sales tax and (often) extra vehicle tax or import tax
- Gasoline is taxed with sales tax and other taxes, but subsidized indirectly by military interventions / protecting shipping lanes
So let's see what your rational mobility decision is in a country without a functioning government to 'distort' the market. My bet is going to be on walking, especially walking away :).
We have solar panels and we're producing more than we need. Bought them in anticipation of an electric car in a few years. In my street, half the houses have solar panels. That's an average street with young families, not a rich neighborhood. Even now that the subsidies have run out, people are still installing them because it takes less than 10 years to recoup the investment and they last about 20 years.
Meanwhile, given the massive interest in solar panels, new technologies are being discovered all the time yielding cleaner production methods with less toxic materials. All of that while at the same time the oil industry is investing in fracking and other extremely polluting methods.
How can you seriously say that we need to continue to burn fuel?
I would say electric cars are more of a status symbol for people who want to pretend they are better than you.
Or people who really like high acceleration and don't need long-range capability. My friends who drive them don't show the attitude you're complaining about.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Doesn't make it a rational market
Neither does making gas available for cheap and forcing your pollution to others. Still, it's the logic used in most of the world.