2017 Tesla Model-3 200 Miles Range at $35,000

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Tesla is aiming to reveal the Model-3 in March 2016 and available to customer late 2017. The range is 200 miles at $35,000 before Federal and State tax incentives.

I think 200 miles range from a fully charged battery is plenty for 95% of all drivings, most people(95% or more) don't drive more than 200 miles daily unless on vacation(s) probably no more than 1-2 times a year. Also, by 2017 Tesla probably has more fast charge stations all over the country especially in Western states such as California, Nevada and Arizona.

If Tesla can keep the price of Model-3 no higher than $35k and the range is around 200 miles, it is a much better car than the BMW i3 in both performance and styling(Model-3 can't be worse looking than i3).

If I'm in market to buy a car in 2017, Tesla Model-3 is probably at the top of my list. BMW 4-series was at the top of my list for few years, but all BMW cars are not on my list since they decided to eliminate the dipstick tubes for oil and ATF.
 
Yeah, this'll be pretty much the perfect car for most people. It'll also make the i3 wish it never existed.

I know I've said this before about the Model S, but it bears repeating: even if the range isn't enough for your occasional road trip, the car will save you so much money in operating costs that you could rent a car or fly for those trips and still come out ahead.

Plus, if it's remotely like the Model S, it'll be the best driving car in its segment as well.

Total slam-dunk. There'll always be some fringe cases it won't work for, but most people will only have two reasons not to buy it: money or prejudice.
 
When my truck is paid off in a year or so I plan on buying a car, the model S is what I really want but I might settle for the little one.

Tesla makes one of the best cars you can buy right now and I'm very proud that its an American company and car.

In my area their are enough charging stations that I could drive to anyplace I wanted to go on vacation, say Philly, Boston, AC, etc, etc and get back without issue. Also my city has a nice Tesla dealership in fittingly the old Saturn dealer.

I have my truck if I want to do something like drive to FL, although an S could do that with a small amount of planning.

Another EV perk is when I go out for dinner to say New Haven or Hartford I get all sorts of great parking spots.
 
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I just can't wrap my head around have a $35000 commuter car. You just can't take it on trips.
 
Originally Posted By: racer12306
I just can't wrap my head around have a $35000 commuter car. You just can't take it on trips.


Well I agree $35 k is alot but there ARE plenty of Americans driving $35k cars that for 99.99999% of their trips, they never go more than 100 miles in a day. Like one guy said, with the savings in gas, you could easily rent or take your other, normal gas car for trips. Personally, I only take a car trip greater than 200 miles maybe once per year.
 
Tesla is 1 of few automotive companies emphasize quality over cost.

Many places in So Cal have preferred parking spaces for EV/plug-in Hybrid vehicles with free charging stations.

I think one can drive Model-S from California to New York with some planning on charging stops.

As posted by d00df00d the operating saving a year is so much such that renting a vehicle for a few long trips a year is not a real problem.

The Model-3 styling is unknown as of now but I think they will be much better than BMW i3. i3 is a sub-compact SUV and it looks so abnormal just to say that "I'm an EV, not a normal SUV". Typical range of i3 is only 80 miles, with 6xx CC gas engine the extended range version was up to 150 miles, way short of 200 miles of Model-3, and cost more than $40k.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I think one can drive Model-S from California to New York with some planning on charging stops.

Although I can't imagine anyone who can afford a Model S to be wanting to do that, unless they were completely bored out of their mind.
 
I'm a battery guy, and a car guy. I live in the middle of the east coast. I can't see buying an ev with 200 mile range, even with my commute only being 9 miles to my main office.

Why? You can't tavel. Charging isn't fast enough to be practical, and even to drive from say Philly to DC or NYC would be putting you into the lower quarter of the battery capacity (which is where the most heat and degradation can occur). Of course ev batteries are typically derated by 50%, but you can't just access the extra capacity.

EVs really need to get to 300-350 miles to be practical. The I could drive,may, to and from DC or nec without thinking twice about charging in between or worrying about getting back. 200 miles would be great for commuting nine miles each way to work, but would require me to reserve another car for other use.

Id have preferred if tesla had made this car into what the chevy volt should have been, with a small generator to top off the battery on demand and while using it, and perhaps a marginal power addendum upon demand. For what you need for a small car, the mass would be minimal and it could have likely even been air cooled.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
200 miles would be great for commuting nine miles each way to work, but would require me to reserve another car for other use.

How frequent is that other use that it'd require you to keep another car on-hand?
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
200 miles would be great for commuting nine miles each way to work, but would require me to reserve another car for other use.

How frequent is that other use that it'd require you to keep another car on-hand?


At least once a month for me, and I can't afford two expensive vehicles. They don't have any charging stations in the rural parts of VA that I like to visit. However I like the progress that is being made.
 
Originally Posted By: philipp10

Well I agree $35 k is alot but there ARE plenty of Americans driving $35k cars that for 99.99999% of their trips, they never go more than 100 miles in a day. Like one guy said, with the savings in gas, you could easily rent or take your other, normal gas car for trips. Personally, I only take a car trip greater than 200 miles maybe once per year.


The gas 'savings' are largely exaggerated on these vehicles, as there is no component for fuel tax. Also, a far less competitive aftermarket for parts and service eat up a lot of the 'savings'.

Tesla owners need to understand that eventually the various governments that tax liquid fuels will come around to taxing electricity used for on-road purposes. The free ride, either Tesla subsidies in manufacturing, or subsidies to EV users generally, will eventually end. Oh and how long do those battery packs really last anyways? Tesla says $12k for a battery that's only warranteed for 8 years, so $1500/year. That's 12k miles worth of liquid petrol in a petrol-burning car which is similar to what one could even realistically drive in a Tesla for a year given the required charging.
 
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Originally Posted By: pitzel
Oh and how long do those battery packs really last anyways? Tesla says $12k for a battery that's only warranteed for 8 years, so $1500/year. That's 12k miles worth of liquid petrol in a petrol-burning car which is similar to what one could even realistically drive in a Tesla for a year given the required charging.

Good point!
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: pitzel
Oh and how long do those battery packs really last anyways? Tesla says $12k for a battery that's only warranteed for 8 years, so $1500/year. That's 12k miles worth of liquid petrol in a petrol-burning car which is similar to what one could even realistically drive in a Tesla for a year given the required charging.

Good point!

$12k is current price of Model S battery pack, Model 3 with much smaller batter pack the cost should be much less than $12k. Now forward 8 years, the battery price of Model 3 will be less than $5-6k since li-ion battery is predicted to drop in price about 8-10% per year.
 
My weekly commute is 50 miles. My wife's is 120 miles. We could easily do a weeks worth of normal driving on one charge. Sign me up!
 
Off topic, I heard a Tesla Model S getting stuck in the snow this past winter when I was in NY.

Weird to hear no engine noise, and the driver spinning away!
 
I drive a turbocharged S2000. It has about 230 mile range. I've only once taken a long-ish, 160 mile trip. I typically fill the car up once a week.

I take the F150 SuperCrew on trips, or I fly the airplane.

A Model 3 would be a perfect car for me. At no point would I be in need of more range.
 
How long is this car going to last? People think nothing of dropping 250k on a house that sits empty most of the time.

35k for a commuter is not cheap, but if I bought one and it lasted twenty years and 400kmiles... Is that such a bad deal?
 
FYI you can get rebuilt Prius batteries. Changing them is no more of a big deal than swapping out a gear box.

I suspect in a few years their will be plenty of aftermarket companies offering rebuilt Tesla batteries for a couple grand.
 
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Originally Posted By: JustinH
Off topic, I heard a Tesla Model S getting stuck in the snow this past winter when I was in NY.

Weird to hear no engine noise, and the driver spinning away!


Their must have been a lot of complaints because you can get AWD in most Model S's now.

Makes sense because its pretty much standard on every other full size luxury car.
 
It's funny how many people say hybrid cars are bad because of that $2000-3000 battery expense somewhere down the road. Have anyone priced a battery for tesla (including installation)? I'm thinking those cars will be worthless after the battery warranty expires.
 
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