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Tesla Motors Inc is set to unveil the Model 3, its long-anticipated pitch to middle-class drivers and a key component in founder Elon Musk’s vision to mainstream the electric car. Tesla, until now a purveyor of luxurious all-electric cars with equally luxurious price-tags, plans to sell the Model 3 for us$35,000, half the base price of the flagship Model S.
The Model 3 is scheduled to be unveiled at Tesla’s Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, on Thursday.
Now only putting out 50,000 cars a year, Tesla plans to use the Model 3 to turn itself into a mainstream automaker selling 500,000 electrics annually by 2020.
Analysts said the new car is critical to Tesla at a time when cheap gasoline is challenging all “green” cars, and as rival General Motors Co stakes its claim on the electric vehicle middle market with its new Chevrolet Bolt.
“The Model 3 is really the measure if Tesla is going to make it long-term as a car company,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst at the auto industry Web site Edmunds.com. “If they want to bring the EV to the mass market they need the Model 3 to be successful.”
The Model 3 would be about 20 percent shorter than the S, placing it in the same segment as the Audi A4. It would also have four-wheel drive, according to people close to the matter.
The car is expected to be able to travel up to 500km without being recharged, depending on the battery system chosen, and would include modern safety systems, such as autopilot.
The first Model 3s are to be delivered by the end of next year in the US, and 2018 in Europe. Consumers can pre-order the vehicles starting on Thursday for a deposit of US$1,000.
Tesla faces direct competition from the soon to be released 200km range Chevrolet Bolt, which would have a one-year head start on the Model 3 in getting the attention of consumers looking for a moderately priced electric-vehicle.
“There is a cachet and a brand image at Tesla,” Chevrolet electrification division product marketing manager Darin Gesse said, adding “we also know Chevrolet has a brand image. We have shown that our customers have been the most happy in the country. Our battery is solid. We have confidence.”
Cheap gasoline is also a challenge, as more consumers opt for SUVs and other large vehicles.
Last month, only about three percent of the 1.3 million cars sold in the US were “green” cars, according to data from hybridcars.com.
“Gas prices are still down,” Caldwell said. “I think you will get the Tesla fans, but you may not have a massive mainstream market.”