Tesla Model 3: the everyman EV that changes everything

Cars

Due to hit the streets some time in 2017, the Tesla Model 3 brings the revolution to the everyman

If you haven’t heard of the Tesla Model 3 you may have been living under a rock.

Because the Tesla Model 3 is the most pre-ordered consumer product in history.

Pitched as the everyman extension to what has thus far been an exclusive, premium automotive brand – the first Tesla Model 3 units for sale will roll out (or may not), some time in 2017. Every week more keen folk lay down the required deposit. At time of writing it appears that orders worth in the region of $19 Billion have been made.

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The video (at foot of post) is pitched like a Steve Jobs keynote. Full of Silicone Valley gee-wizz high net worth geekery.

But the unveil is one of the truly important moments in automotive history.

The emotive talk about record CO2 levels strikes a chord – and only when mass consumption of zero-emission cars comes online can anything significant be done about consumer-led contributions to climate change.

Musk goes on to tell the story of how the relatively low volume, high priced Model S and Model X cars provide the revenue that’s needed to develop the low price, high volume car that is the Tesla Model 3.

Currently the Model S is the biggest selling luxury sedan in America.

This thing will only cost $35,000. Think about that. With the launch of the Tesla 3, Musk is going to change everything. Again.

Tesla Model 3 Prototype

You’ll see in the video that Musk also majors on safety – and the Model 3 is aiming for a 5-star rating in every category. But he also promises that the car will pull away in less than 6 seconds. He’s also committed that the Tesla 3 will have at least a range of 215 miles – and that all standard models will come with autopilot hardware as standard – as well as the supercharging facility – essential for a mass market product.

Not everyone, after all, has a garage or a driveway to charge the car at home.

The car is also is slated to fit five adults comfortably – no mean feat in a car of such relatively compact dimensions. The design achieves this because of the absence of a ‘firewall’ between what would be the engine compartment and the cabin. The front seats are moved forward, closer to the front axle than would normally be possible. The roof and windscreen will be a single, continuous piece of glass and like the Model S will have front and rear luggage compartments.

While the initial prototypes of the Tesla 3 don’t exactly set the world alight in the aesthetic stakes – again the car reminds us of a Callumesque Jag with a few nods to Mazda’s greatest moments.

No Matter. The Tesla 3 will change everything. Again.

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