Engineering news
The manufacturer will bring EVs to the masses with $35,000 model
Elon Musk has announced details of the Tesla Model 3 via twitter, the car he envisions will bring electric vehicles to the mass market.
The model, which will retail for around $35,000 before government incentives, will hit the market at half the price of the luxury Model S.
Despite sitting at the bottom of the manufacturer's range underneath the $71,000 Model S and the forthcoming Model X SUV, the X has been hailed the first to be available at an 'attainable' price tag for the mass market.
The manufacturer is set to begin production on the electric car in around two years, Musk said, and will require one of the company’s huge 'Gigafactories' to drive down manufacturing costs. The reason is that before the model can be produced, the manufacturer must be able to supply it with a cheaper lithium-ion battery.
In the company's earnings conference call in February, Musk hinted at the design of the upcoming Model 3. He said: “We got quite adventurous with the X...that would be too risky given the Gigafactory and everything sort of has to happen on time. We're not going to go super crazy with the design of the initial version of the 3.”
While the design of the model is yet to be revealed, the model will be unveiled in March 2016, and Tesla will begin taking pre-orders at that time.
In his tweets on Wednesday 2 September, Musk said, “Model 3, our smaller and lower cost sedan will start production in about 2 years. Fully operational Gigafactory needed.
"$35k price, unveil in March, preorders start then," he added.
Musk also took the opportunity to outline the timeframe for the first deliveries of the Model X SUV, which will begin on 29 September 2015.
Musk tweeted: “With same options, Model X is $5k more than an S due to greater size & body complexity. Sig Series is fully loaded, hence high price."
He added: “First production cars will be handed over on Sept 29 at our Fremont factory.”