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Tesla has been advancing the production, marketability and availability of electric vehicles around the world for a number of years now, but it's never really made them affordable for the average consumer. That's what the Model 3 is designed to fix, with its £25,000 price tag and expansive 215 mile range, it could be the first electric car for the masses.
Although the more affordable electric car is now available to order, it won't begin shipping until late 2017 and is restricted to two per person, so don't go in expecting to own a fleet of the vehicles within a few weeks' time. That doesn't mean they haven't proved popular though.
Meet Model 3 – Make your reservation at https://t.co/8uVlhvzpu5 #Model3https://t.co/NdyGLgoW0D
— Tesla (@TeslaMotors) April 1, 2016
Along with championing the unveiling of the car itself, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been impressed by the interest in the car and has added several other applicable countries to the order list, suggesting that international support has been higher than expected. In total some 115,000 people put down $1,000 to reserve one of the first Model 3s when they launch.
Part of that interest is because of U.S. government incentives, which are offering a $7,500 (£5,200) subsidy for the first 200,000 buyers; thought the car itself has impressed in its own right.
Despite the much more economically viable price tag, the Model 3 is still able to travel 215 miles before requiring a charge, can go from 0-60 miles per hour in under six seconds, will feature the autopilot system which lets it drive by itself on motorways and in traffic jams, charges in almost no time at all thanks to its “supercharging” feature and has plenty of storage space at the front and back.
All that extra room is possible because of the electric motors being far smaller than traditional combustion engines.
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KitGuru Says: I'd drive one of these if buying a brand new car a year and a half in advance was the kind of thing I could afford.
That $7,500 tax rebate goes to the first 200,000 people who buy ANY electric vehicle from a company (every company’s first 200,000 electric cars get this). Tesla will likely have sold 150-200k electric cars in the US by the time the model 3 starts being delivered, meaning only the first few tens of thousands and those who buy in the six months following (the tax credit stays in full for six months after hitting the 200k) will get the full credit. The credit goes down in a few steps then is gone. I definitely think the government should extend the program to last much longer. I think they should tweak it though so the incentive is smaller for very expensive cars and very cheap cars (an $8,000 car shouldn’t get $7,500 off and neither should a $500,000 car). A system that lowered the incentives at the extremes of price ranges would be good.