Tesla Model 3 Will Indeed Include “Next Generation” Technology, CTO JB Straubel Notes

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

Originally published on EV Obsession.

As the Tesla Model 3 unveil gets closer and closer, I’m getting the sense that some people are getting rather impatient. To throw those who feel this way a bit of a scrap here, Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), JB Straubel, recently spoke on the subject at the IHS Energy CERAWeek event in Houston, Texas.

There wasn’t much “new” revealed, per se, but there were some interesting comments. Amongst which was that the Model 3 would feature the “next-generation” of Tesla technology — not something unexpected, but it does seem to suggest that there are some surprises in store for the reveal at the end of March.

Tesla CTO JB Straubel: Model 3 Is Going To Be Mostly New Technology

Adding to that, he apparently noted: “We don’t really need more performance; we don’t really need much more range; we need to focus on cost. I think it will surprise people with the level of features it includes.”

He also noted that the Model 3 will be of similar size to the Audi A4.

Teslarati provides more:

Overall, battery costs are declining through advances in manufacturing. Lower costs will lead to significant improvements in the amount of electrical energy that can be stored and to building batteries on a larger scale. Straubel indicated that electric motor costs are also declining. “Basically, every single part of that electric vehicle ecosystem is dropping substantially, he said.

He reminded his audience that when Tesla first began selling the Model S, industry observers thought demand for the car would top out at 3,000 cars. “We’re selling tens of thousands of cars per year,” Straubel said. Once the Model 3 joins the Model S and Model X, Tesla claims it will be selling hundreds of thousands of cars a year.

The Tesla Model 3 reveal is currently set for March 31, the same day that in-store reservations will begin. Online reservations will begin the next day, on April 1.

→ Related: Purported Insider: Model 3 To Be Very Similar To Model S, Just Smaller (Rumor)


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

James Ayre has 4830 posts and counting. See all posts by James Ayre