Tesla Delivers First Model 3s, Confirms Details
CARS.COM — At an event Friday night outside Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif., the automaker handed out the first 30 rabidly anticipated Model 3s to customers (company employees, as it turns out) and confirmed a few key details about its all-new electric sedan.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed two trim levels of the Model 3: Standard and Long Range.
Standard models will:
- Start at $35,000
- Have 220 miles of range
- Boast a 5.6-second zero-to-60-mph time
- Have a top speed of 130 mph
Long Range models will offer more, well, range. They also will:
- Start at $44,000
- Go 310 miles on a full charge
- Spring from zero-to-60 mph in 5.1 seconds
- Have a 140-mph top speed
Previous news from Tesla indicated that the first batch of cars will be rear-wheel drive, with all-wheel-drive models to follow at an unspecified date.
We also got a longer look at the finished Model 3 interior, including that large front screen mounted horizontally rather than vertically, as in the Model S and Model X. There is also no more traditional instrument panel behind the wheel; the display will serve as the only information conduit for the driver:
A look inside Model 3 pic.twitter.com/hIhAZn4Sdj
— Tesla (@TeslaMotors) July 29, 2017
Similar to the Model X’s giant front glass window, the Model 3 has a large window of its own, but it’s to the rear. Musk stated that this offers more backseat headroom and an amazing view — we’ll have to test that last part out ourselves down the line.
There were no hard dates given on the rest of the Model 3 deliveries, except that Tesla says it will be able to ramp up production soon and “we are building the cars as fast as we can.” Musk did say that if you order a Model 3 now, Tesla hopes to get it to you by the end of 2018.
Musk also offered the following tidbits of information:
- Tesla is going to greatly expand the Supercharger network, Musk said, promising that “by the end of next year, there will be three times as many superchargers as there are today.”
- This initial batch was 50 cars, 30 of which were delivered to customers and 20 of which will be held back for engineering validation.
- There are 10,000 unique parts in the Model 3, two-thirds of which are sourced from North America.
Now that the Model 3 has finally been unveiled, we’ll bring you more info as it becomes available — which we hope will include an opportunity to get behind the wheel sooner than later.
