At the Tesla Model 3 production vehicle reveal tonight, Tesla shared the official pricing and range of the two versions of the Model 3 initially available to customers. It will come in Standard at the base $35,000 price tag, which will feature 220 miles of range. The Standard trim is no slouch and will speed along from 0–60 mph in a mere 5.6 seconds, up to a top speed of 130 miles per hour.
As part of the Tesla Model 3 production unveiling tonight, Tesla blew our minds with updates in the pre-event webcast. Updates came from across the Tesla manufacturing network live, including from within the Fremont factory itself and way out in Sparks, Nevada, at the Gigafactory. As part of the Gigafactory update, Tesla shared that when it was up and running at full capacity, the Gigafactory would produce more batteries than the rest of the world combined … by a factor of 2!
In advance of the Model 3 Production reveal tonight, Elon Musk tweeted out the winner of Tesla’s Project Loveday contest. Technophile Marques Brownlee (aka MKBHD) took top honors with his fan-made commercial depicting a day in the life of a Tesla owner, including a chance encounter and drag race against a Lamborghini.
Is it some kind of crazy coincidence? Is it the stars teaming up with a starry-eyed Elon? Or is it simply in the socio-quantum physics of how technology transitions occur?
The Tesla Model 3 reveal in 2016 was the most anticipated vehicle reveal in history, and perhaps the most anticipated product reveal of any kind. More recently, production launch has been the most anticipated production launch of any vehicle since perhaps the Ford Model T.
Tesla was on a “death watch” nearly one decade ago. News coverage and editorials frequently postulated Tesla’s coming demise. “It couldn’t produce cars,” said some critics. “No one wanted its cars,” skeptics claimed. “Its cars broke down around every turn,” liars lied. “Where would people charge? Where could the cars be fixed?” The barriers to success were many and large.
At the beginning of the year, we asked you to put down your estimates for total electric car sales in the US in 2017, sales by model, and sales by type of EV. With 6 months of sales under our belts, I thought it would be interesting to check in and see how those projections look today. Note that we’re just looking at US sales, FYI. Global sales are impossible to track and I’d rather not play with those estimates today.
Tesla kicked off Project Loveday in response to a letter from 10 year old Bria Loveday, who suggested the company make use of the eager energy of its fanbase to generate its first official commercial. The contest was kicked off in 2016 and was set to end earlier this year but the close of the contest was pushed back at the last minute. When it resurfaced, 10 finalists were announced with the final selection date tied to the upcoming reveal of the production version of the Tesla Model 3.
With Tesla Model 3 now in production, we’re having a lot of fun. The naysayers have not exactly quieted down (they actually seem louder than ever), but yet another major milestone they said was impossible is already in the rearview camera. New details on the Model 3 are coming out on Friday along with the final unveiling of the production version of the car. There will surely be some fun surprises. However, more or less, we know what the Model 3 is offering.
Elon Musk posted a video on Instagram yesterday showing the first test of the elevator that will be used to raise and lower vehicles to the tunnels created by his Boring Company. Also, Consumer Reports has restored the top ranking of the Tesla Model S.
