Tesla announces Model III: to cost £30000

Tesla announces Model III: Musk's next electric car will cost £30,000, be 20% smaller and have a range of 200 miles. Looks like the competition will be heating up. Firms up my decision to lease and not buy the i3.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2694113/Tesla-announces-Model-3-Musks-electric-car-cost-30-000-20-smaller-range-200-miles.html

Hi guys,

excellent. Competition is a great thing. Let's see if Elon can deliver

Regards, Steven

MikeS said:

Firms up my decision to lease and not buy the i3.

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Ditto!

I'm interested too, but we have to keep a level head about Tesla.

We'll be lucky to see these cars before 2018, and by then there will be a very healthy EV playing field to play on.

20% smaller than the Model S is still going to be substantially larger than an i3. Carting around a large battery might please some people, but it and the car's size will impact the efficiency of the vehicle as a whole so commuter trips are going to be less efficient than whatever the current generation of i3 sized urban EV's will be at that time.

Bet it won't hit the market at that price either!

This is a wet dream. There's no way for Tesla to do a 200 mile bev for $35,000. They will be competing with BMW i3, VW e-Golf, Mercedes B class, etc all of whom have much higher volumes and by 2017 will have 3 years of sales/development under their belt. Even these are priced at 40+K with only an 80 mile range.

Since Tesla said it will be a steel rather than an aluminum frame/body like the S, to get 200 miles would require a 48kwh 1500lb battery and you'll wind up with a 4300+ lb vehicle. The new Mercedes class B is close to 4000lbs with a 36kwh battery and a range of only 85 miles

On top of that, Tesla has 2 billion of debt floated for the battery factory. It's rated as junk by S&P and the next recession will sink Tesla

My take is it's all hype

cove3 said:

This is a wet dream. There's no way for Tesla to do a 200 mile bev for $35,000. They will be competing with BMW i3, VW e-Golf, Mercedes B class, etc all of whom have much higher volumes and by 2017 will have 3 years of sales/development under their belt. Even these are priced at 40+K with only an 80 mile range.

Since Tesla said it will be a steel rather than an aluminum frame/body like the S, to get 200 miles would require a 48kwh 1500lb battery and you'll wind up with a 4300+ lb vehicle. The new Mercedes class B is close to 4000lbs with a 36kwh battery and a range of only 85 miles

On top of that, Tesla has 2 billion of debt floated for the battery factory. It's rated as junk by S&P and the next recession will sink Tesla

My take is it's all hype

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think so too

Tesla vs i3 battery
http://www.slideshare.net/DavidQuarles/bmw-i3-vs-tesla-battery

Interesting. I wonder what his view of the VW e-Golf battery is. What I've found is that it appears to be very similar to the i3
http://ae-plus.com/features/volkswagen-e-golf/page:2

It's my view that the e-Golf in November will become i3's primary competitor. This due to an $8000 MSRP price difference, plus additional features such as 2 full rear doors with electric window, leatherette seats, 40% more cargo space, and 5 passenger vs 4.

Ron

Stevei3 said:

Hi guys,

excellent. Competition is a great thing. Let's see if Elon can deliver

Regards, Steven

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Sounds interesting, but optimistic. But, Elon knows a man, who knows a man, at the battery factory.

cove3 said:

..., leatherette seats, ...

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I can remember when [strikethrough]vinyl[/strikethrough] [strikethrough]faux leather[/strikethrough] leatherette seats were the cheapest things you could put in a car. Hot and sweaty in the summer, and cold and slippery in the winter.

I wondered about that myself, but VW is promoting it by including it in the US e-Golf SEL model, which is their premium trim with virtually all the options included in the 35K. I did a search and found most reviewers and owners are happy with it. Vinyl appears to have improved over the years

http://www.autonews.com/article/20110831/BLOG06/110839965/leatherette-isnt-a-4-letter-word-at-vw
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=250948
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f63/leather-vs-leatherette-50882.html

"Reviewers say the CC’s leatherette seating feels and looks better than the real leather in some rivals"
"Leatherette is fine, it's actually a huge upgrade from the leatherette in earlier Vw products, the feel is much more leathery and much less plasticy. It should also be much more durable. "

Ron

I'm also looking forward to the Tesla Model 3 but don't agree with not buying an EV now so you can wait for the Model 3. That car won't launch for at the very least three years, and most likely more than four years. Also, the 35K is a virtual pipe dream as others have noted. I do expect it to be a compelling offering but it's still four years out and will likely be around $40,000 for the "stripper" and well over $50k for a nicely appointed one.

Tesla is having a lot of problems bringing the Model X to market and it's already more than a year behind schedule and Tesla hasn't even shown us the actual production Model X vehicle, only pre-production prototypes. Elon's prediction of the Model 3 coming in 2017 will most certainly be 2018 at best.

Why wait 4 years? Get an EV now and trade up to the Model 3 in 2018 if you like it!

Tom I totally agree with you and also worth considering is that BMW, could offer an improved battery increasing range in 4 years time.

I definitely agree to, in the next 3 to 4 years there could be a lot of developments, but if you look at Tesla that price of $35,000 is no doubt a base price. I was interested in Tesla until I started to build one on their web site. Most things you are going to want on their existing models is ala-cart and the options are really pricy, plus some of them will surprise you that they aren't standard. You can always convince yourself to wait for the next advance, but when the future comes there will be another better EV further down the road. Now it's the Model 3 and in 2017 it will be the Model ...X... with new promises of better, smaller, larger, more range, ect....
Hay how long are you going to be around to wait, believe me life passes all to quickly and you will be looking back and saying why did I wait.

Not me, I am enjoying my i3 now and maybe another iX will be out with more range, better batteries, ect.. when I am ready to trade this one in.

mindmachine said:

Hay how long are you going to be around to wait, believe me life passes all to quickly and you will be looking back and saying why did I wait.

Not me, I am enjoying my i3 now and maybe another iX will be out with more range, better batteries, ect.. when I am ready to trade this one in.

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Ditto X2! Except I have commitment issues and so I leased instead of bought. For all my irritation about the inhibited REX, it is a fantastic car and I am very glad I did not wait.

cove3 said:

"Reviewers say the CC’s leatherette seating feels and looks better than the real leather in some rivals"
"Leatherette is fine, it's actually a huge upgrade from the leatherette in earlier Vw products, the feel is much more leathery and much less plasticy. It should also be much more durable. "

Ron

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That's not saying much. The interior materials in VWs have historically been in the cheap side.

jelloslug said:

cove3 said:

"Reviewers say the CC’s leatherette seating feels and looks better than the real leather in some rivals"
"Leatherette is fine, it's actually a huge upgrade from the leatherette in earlier Vw products, the feel is much more leathery and much less plasticy. It should also be much more durable. "

Ron

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That's not saying much. The interior materials in VWs have historically been in the cheap side.

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"historically"... you have to go pretty far back. Having traded in my GTI and previously had 3 other VW, I must say the BMW interior and quality are not (much?) ahead. But then I give i3 benefit of the doubt, given this is its first model year and is using a lot of new material.

My Phaeton was made from top drawer materials and it was a 2004 IIRC.