Tesla Releases Its Electrical Car for the Masses
The Model Three, listed at $35,000, has 115,000 preorders and climbing
- By Camille von Kaenel, ClimateWire on April 1, 2016
- Véalo en español
Tesla Motors Inc.`s unveiling of its fresh electrified vehicle yesterday had the marks of an iPhone release–long lines of enthusiastic consumers, a glossy product and a CEO presenting in a elementary black T-shirt.
Little fresh information came out about the Model Trio, but with the car`s comparably more affordable $35,000 price tag and 215-mile range, Tesla is making a bid to become a mass-market auto manufacturer.
Worldwide preorders for the car reached 115,000 and kept climbing last night, more than the total number of electrical vehicles sold in the United States last year. Tesla had slightly more than 100,000 cars on the road as of the end of last year.
It took three cars to get there, said the automaker`s CEO and chairman, Elon Musk.
«With any fresh technology, it takes numerous iterations and economies of scale before you can make it affordable,» Musk at the event at the rigid`s design studio in Hawthorne, Calif.
The company still faces several barriers, like production delays and the lack of a sturdy dealer network. But Musk has hoped to unlock EVs for the masses for years. The Model S and Model X, selling respectively for around $70,000 and more than $120,000, have so far largely remained niche products.
«The X and the S are what paid for that Model three development,» Musk said, describing it as a (not-so) secret master plan.
The car will have an EPA rating of at least two hundred fifteen miles per charge. The base model will accelerate from zero to sixty mph within six seconds, twice as much as the Model S, albeit some models may go swifter. It will seat five «cozily» by compressing the front panel but will maintain the front and rear cargo trunks of the previous models. The base model will include autopilot hardware. A single glass panel comprises the roof of the car, providing it a sleek look.
Musk hinted at extra bells and whistles, which could raise the price for those who choose them. Before the official announcement, he promised a «Part Two» of the expose closer to production.
A ‘fresh normal` for the EV market
Electrical vehicle sales in the United States have reached 420,000 since 2010, far below President Obama`s purpose of a million. A limited range and charging infrastructure have so far constrained sales.
About two dozen battery and plug-in electrical vehicle models, by Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and other major manufacturers, were sold on the U.S. market last year. Hyundai Motor Co. recently announced its Ioniq series, including hybrid, electrical and plug-in hybrid versions. Most ranges remain under one hundred miles.
But that`s switching.
General Motors announced its Chevrolet Bolt, which could cost $37,500, with a 200-mile range, in January. It could roll out later this year.
Tack on a federal tax credit of $7,500 and state incentives, and the Model three and the Bolt could sell for less than $30,000.
«Both the announcements by GM and Tesla for their two thousand seventeen cars are establishing a fresh normal for the EV market,» said John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART, a California-based clean transportation technology industry group that counts both auto manufacturers among its members.
«All other manufacturers, to be competitive, will have to suggest similar products,» he said.
Tesla believes the Model three will help bump production at its Fremont, Calif., factory to 500,000 cars a year.
Challenges down the line?
At that rate, according to Musk, the company will require the world`s entire current production of lithium-ion batteries. The hard`s Gigafactory in Nevada will commence providing batteries next year, according to Tesla.
«It`s a major leap from being a tech company to being any type of company, especially a global manufacturer of automobiles,» said Jack Nerad, an executive market analyst at Kelley Blue Book. «It`s a complicated business, rife with well-funded and government-connected competition.»
Other automakers have more wiggle room, he said, because they can spread development costs across a lineup of cars and even sell electrified vehicles at a loss.
Consumer Reports announced that Tesla was likely to involve a worse-than-average overall problem rate last fall as part of its annual auto reliability survey after previously raving about the company`s cars. Tesla owners have complained about the drive system, the charging equipment, and figure peeps and rattles, according to the survey.
The company`s sales model also eschews dealerships for manufacturer-run storefronts, of which there are two hundred fifteen around the world. Tesla plans to dual that by the end of next year.
Musk has said his product is too fresh to rely on traditional modes of distribution. But Kenneth Elias, a fucking partner at Maryann Keller & Associates, an automotive industry consultancy, is skeptical.
«The Chevrolet brand doesn`t have the cachet of Tesla, but you`ve got backing of [around Trio,000] Chevrolet dealers,» Elias said. «Everybody loves the idea of buying a car over the Internet, but that`s not reality.»
The rigid has also had trouble sticking to a production timeline, with the rollout of the Model X years behind schedule. Musk shrugged it off to laughs during his announcement, telling he was «fairly certain» the Model three would stay on schedule.
Excited fans
Lines formed around the country at Tesla`s showrooms, where $1,000 could get customers a spot on the waitlist. Tesla opened online preorders last night, earlier than expected, to avoid a server overcharge.
Some people in Santa Monica began lining up Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. At the Washington, D.C., showroom on K Street, more than a hundred people were waiting at ten a.m. when the doors opened.
Esteban Escobar, 34, was the very first inwards. After driving in from Hagerstown, Md., he said, he had been waiting there since five a.m.
«I snuck out at 1:30, and my wifey didn`t know,» he joked.
«That shows how sultry he is about this car,» interjected his friend, Doug Guessford, 31.
«I`ve wished an electrical car for a while, but I can`t afford a Tesla X or S,» Escobar continued. He said he might not even get the car in two years when it comes out, depending on where he lives or what other options exist, but putting his name down on the waitlist would keep that option open.
Guessford already drives an electrified vehicle, the Nissan Leaf–«a poor man`s Tesla,» he said–but also put his name down for a Model Three.
«I`ve been waiting for something like this for a long time–the range, the price, the styling,» he said.
Coffees in arm, the two headed to Escobar`s current car, a two thousand eight Scion xB.
«A box,» scoffed Escobar, before driving off.