Tesla Model 3 has reviewers swooning
The first Model 3s off the production line will cost $14K more than the base model
The Tesla Model 3 has arrived with a whoosh, leaving some tech and automotive writers breathless and blushing.
Wired gasps its “much more than an electric car.” Mashable swoons the Model 3 is “pretty damn awesome.” Business Insider has a topper, saying “the entire world will want this car.” Others getting a few minutes behind the wheel — Tesla limited exposure — found it quite fetching. The first 30 cars were handed over to early supporters and employees Friday.
Motor Trend reviewer Kim Reynolds spun through a Southern California roads, accompanied by a company executive. Reynolds raved about the handling, feel and the “nearly-nil body roll” on turns. The magazine got a quick look at a premium, $60,000 model, a price a good deal more than nearly-nil.
Others note the Model 3 — CEO Elon Musk’s vision for the mass market — can hardly present itself as a car for the average U.S. driver.
The bestselling sedan in the country this year is the Toyota Camry, a workhorse that starts around $23,000 and gets 33 mpg on the highway.
The first Tesla production Model 3s rolling off the Fremont factory floor carry a $49,000 sticker price and a 310-mile range.
The base model for $35,000 will not be available until at least November for early reservation holders. Additional features — like color (non-black adds $1,000), Autopilot ($5,000), fullautonomous mode ($3,000), and a larger battery pack ($9,000) — quickly inflate the price tag.
The zero emission vehicles are eligible for federal and state incentives, which now total $10,000 for California owners. Federal incentives phase out as automakers hit certain sales targets.
The first deliveries drew hundreds of Tesla employees around a temporary stage Friday night in back of the Fremont factory. Fueled by drinks and appetizers, with liberal doses of dance music and flashing lights, the audience swelled and aimed their phones toward the rows of charging Model 3s in their parking lot.
Tesla invited fans to produce commercials for the automaker, which boasts to spending nothing on paid advertising. The top videos were projected on the white factory walls.
Musk drove onstage in a red Model 3, drawing roars.
The tech mogul warned his troops about the stress ahead, with a half-million reservations to fill for the Model 3. “As the saying goes, if you’re going through hell,” he said, “keep going.”
The party rolled on.