New Tesla Model 3 has quite a learning curve

Though I wasn’t sure if I’d ever buy one, I was one of the first people to fork over a refundable $1,000 deposit when Tesla started taking reservations for the Model 3 in March 2016. When the cars became available in mid-2017, they were in very short supply, so I didn’t have to think about whether I would actually order one.

Finally in April I got an email from Tesla telling me that I could order one for delivery in a few weeks.

I didn’t initially take the bait. First, it’s a big-ticket item. The so-called $35,000 Tesla Model 3 doesn’t yet exist. Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Lesley Stahl on last week’s “60 Minutes” that the low-cost model was expected to go into production in about six months, but he admitted that he wasn’t really sure about that.

The Model 3 that people can buy now starts closer to $50,000. By the time you add its most interesting feature, the Enhanced Autopilot software, it’s nearly $55,000. If you want any color other than black, it’s another $1,500 to $2,500, depending on the color. By the time you include taxes and fees, it’s closer to $60,000 before the federal and state rebates.

Then I got a note from Tesla saying that to qualify for the full $7,500 federal electric car tax rebate, I had to take delivery in 2018, which meant ordering by Nov. 30. Also, Tesla just launched a model with a lower range (260 vs. 310 miles) battery for $3,000 less.

I still wasn’t convinced I wanted to spend this much money on a car, but the day before I had to make a decision, I