Tesla Delivers First 30 $35,000 Model 3 Sedans
Tesla Unveils $35,000 Model 3 Sedan
By BILL VLASIC JULY 29, 2017
FREMONT, Calif. — The electric-car maker Tesla unveiled
the first of its Model 3 sedans on Friday as the company drew closer to
introducing the vehicle — which is priced for mainstream consumers — into the
American market.
In a ceremony at Tesla’s factory complex near San
Francisco, the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, delivered the initial
Model 3s off the assembly line to 30 employees chosen to be the model’s first
owners.
It was a pivotal moment in Tesla’s evolution from a
manufacturer of luxury electric vehicles into a producer of mass-market cars.
The company has yet to specify when it will begin selling
the Model 3, priced at $35,000, to the half-million prospective buyers who have
reserved cars with $1,000 deposits.
But Mr. Musk said the vehicle would officially go on sale
soon, the fruition of his ambitious goal to make electric cars available to a
broad range of consumers.
“We finally have a great, affordable electric car, and it
is absolutely what’s needed,” Mr. Musk said at a media briefing on Friday.
Despite collecting billions of dollars in losses, Tesla
has been the darling of investors who have propelled its market value to be on
a par with much bigger automakers like General Motors and Ford.
Much of that enthusiasm is tied to the potential of the
Model 3, which carries a price tag that allows it to compete directly with many
traditional gasoline-powered cars and sport utility vehicles.
“This is Tesla’s most important milestone and one that may
be the key to its success or failure,” said Akshay Anand, an analyst with the
auto-research firm Kelley Blue Book.
Other car companies are in various stages of building
affordable electric cars. G.M., for example, has been selling the
battery-powered Chevrolet Bolt, also priced at $35,000, for several months.
But Tesla’s cachet and brand image overshadow most of its
rivals’ in the electric-car segment.
Mr. Musk said he was unsure how quickly Tesla could
accelerate production to meet the backlog of orders.
“We are going to go through at least six months of
manufacturing hell,” he said.
The company is looking to more than quadruple its annual
production rate, to 500,000 vehicles, by next year.
The first Model 3s for sale will be limited to those
powered by a standard battery pack that can provide 220 miles of driving on a
single charge.
Tesla will later offer a long-range version of the car
that has a higher top speed and a battery range of 310 miles.
The Model 3 mimics the sleek styling of Tesla’s
considerably more expensive Model S, which is priced well above $100,000.
But the new model has an interior look all its own,
featuring a spare, wood-paneled dashboard devoid of instruments except a single
computer touch-screen.
The car is also equipped with so-called autopilot
features that include an emergency braking system. Optional systems will be
available that enable the car to virtually drive itself in certain traffic
conditions.
In his comments on Friday, Mr. Musk seemed awed by the
overwhelming interest in the Model 3, particularly from prospective buyers who
continue to flood the company with deposits for a car that is still in the
early stages of production.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make cars as fast
we can,” he said. “Demand is not the challenge here.”
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