LOS ANGELES: Elon Musk revealed Tesla Motors Inc.'s Model 3, the sedan the electric-car maker is counting on to expand its customer base and reach sustainable profitability, capping a day in which fans lined up out the door of stores to reserve their vehicles sight unseen.
The US$35,000 Model 3 will have a minimum 215 miles (346 kilometers) range, and Musk said he's “fairly confident” deliveries will begin in 2017. Tesla received more than 115,000 reservations in 24 hours, Musk said on stage at the company's Hawthorne, California, design studio. Orders reached at least 276,000 by April 2.
“We have an amazing product. I think you’ll be blown away,” Musk, 44, said Thursday. “You will not be able to buy a better car for US$35,000, or even close. It's a really good car, even with no options.”
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Musk addressing the audience prior to the Model 3 launch earlier today.
The Model 3 is the linchpin of Tesla's plan to reach beyond affluent buyers and make electric vehicles a significant part of the auto market. Much of the car's platform is new, including the battery architecture and motor technology. Many of the executives who worked on the Model 3, including Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel and chief designer Franz von Holzhausen, have been part of the company's leadership team for years.
The number of reservations exceeded some analysts’ estimates and is more than the roughly 107,000 vehicles Tesla has sold to date. At US$1,000 each, the deposits would infuse the company's coffers with at least US$134 million. While the reservations are refundable, the outpouring suggests there will be plenty of demand for the company to work through once production gets under way.
Hardware for Tesla's Autopilot features will be standard and the four-door sedan will seat five adults. Design features include one large, continuous piece of glass for the rear roof area to enhance visibility.
“I thought the car was hot, especially with the matte finish,” Adam Browning, 45, the executive director of Vote Solar in Oakland, California, said at the event. “The righteous future isn’t just good, it's better. It's faster, cooler and sexier.”
Tesla plans to double the number of its Supercharger stations and its store count by the end of 2017. Customers in new markets including Brazil, India and Musk's native South Africa were among consumers able to place orders online Thursday.
By the time Tesla's Short Hills, New Jersey, store opened to take reservations at 10 a.m., more than 200 people had queued up. Soji Ojugbele, 29, a software quality tester from Plainfield, New Jersey, had been in line since 4 a.m.
“I test drove the Model S and just fell in love,” he said in an interview. “If you’re as passionate about something as people are about the Tesla, it's not a surprise.”
US Tesla customers are eager to get their cars before the US$7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles is phased out. While the Model 3's base price still makes it a luxury model, it is not nearly the financial stretch for consumers as the US$75,000 Model S.
“I’ve been waiting to buy an electric car for 10 years,” said Mark Dilsizian, a doctoral student at New Jersey's Rutgers University who also runs a software startup. “It's safer, it's greener, it's better performing, it's better designed.”
Model 3 faces an increasingly competitive landscape. General Motors Co. plans to release its all-electric Chevrolet Bolt at a similar price point later this year. The Model 3 likely will target buyers who also would consider small luxury sedans such as the Audi A4 and BMW's 3 series.
