Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk on Friday (Saturday, Australian time) unveiled the full specifications and pricing of the new Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle, revealing that the base model will have a range of 354km, while a pricier version would have a range of nearly 500kms.
The first 30 Model 3’s – dubbed the first mass-market electric car, and yet another major step towards the death of the petrol car – were delivered to their owners at a lavish ceremony on Friday night.
But while the issue around range anxiety was settled, potential Australian customers were delivered a blow with news that the first Model 3 EVs will not be delivered until 2019 – extending the drought of EV options plaguing the country.
The standard Model 3, with 220 mile range (354kms), and 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds, wills sell for $US35,000, while the model with a 310 mile range (498kms) and 0-60mph in 5.1 seconds, will retail for $US44,000 – reflecting the bigger battery.
“You will not find another car either gasoline or electric car that is anywhere near as great,” Musk said at the opening.
There is as yet no news on the pricing for Australian customers, but it equates to $A44,000 and $A55,000 at current rates – and that is before add-ons and transport costs. The equation is likely to move before 2019.
And while 30 lucky people got their cars today, many others on the waiting list of more than half a million will have to wait at least a year. Musk says that people who order now will not likely get the car until late in 2018.
The company plans to ramp up production to 5,000 a week by the end of this year, and 10,000 a week by the end of 2018, but Musk warned that with 10,000 parts sourced from numerous suppliers, production could only go as quickly as the slowest part.
“We are going to be in production hell. For at least 6 months, maybe longer,” Musk said. “We are building the cars as fast as we can.”
Musk said the Model 3 EVs, like the Model S and the Model X, were equipped for full autonomous driving – although this would not necessarily be allowed by authorities until the technology is further refined.
This included 8 cameras, 12 ultra sonic sonars, and 4 radars.”You wont need to look at instrument panel all that often,” Musk said. “You will be able to watch movies, talk to friends, go to sleep.”
The full specifications can be found here.
He also said the Model 3 was now the safest car in the world, and showed tests that showed far greater structural resistance than the current market leader, Volvo. “Volvo is now the second safest car in the world,” Musk said.
Tesla has tweeted some of the details of what it looks like inside, see here.
He also said the company would treble the number of super chargers around the world by 2018.
The long-awaited unveiling of the Model 3 and its first deliveries comes in the same week that the UK announced it would ban all sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2045, following a similar move by France.
Norway and the nNetherlands will have bans in place by 2025 (42 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Norway are now electric), while India is aiming for no new diesel or petrol car sales by 2030, and China – the biggest car market in the world – is aiming for 12 per cent of all sales to be electric by 2020.
