SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Tesla announces $35,000 Model 3, is closing its stores to pay for it
On Thursday afternoon, Tesla announced that it's finally ready to start selling the cheapest versions of its Model 3 electric vehicle. For $35,000—before any federal or local tax incentives—you can now order a rear-wheel drive Model 3 Standard Range. This car gets black paint and the as-yet unseen standard interior, which means manual (not power assisted) seat and steering adjustment, cloth trim, and a stripped-down audio system. Tesla says the cheapest Model 3 will have 220 miles of range, will hit 60mph (96km/h) in 5.6 seconds before topping out at 130mph (209km/h).
[...] However, these new, cheaper Teslas come at a cost. Tesla also announced that it is now moving to an entirely online sales model and will be shuttering most of its retail locations in the US. "Going to online only is incredibly helpful to us; in many parts of the US, we're unable to sell cars because of franchise laws. This substantially opens up our ability to buy cars. It's 2019—people want to buy stuff online," Musk said.
That means job losses. "There's no other way for us to achieve the savings required to produce this car and still remain profitable. There's no way around it," Musk said. However, when asked about the number or timing of job losses, Musk would not be drawn into details and dismissed the question as "not today's topic."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by dltaylor on Friday March 01 2019, @04:12AM (2 children)
For example, I can not get into a Model S without ridiculous contortions. There is not room enough between the seat and top of the door opening to clear my head.
I looked long and carefully to find a car with straightforward entry and exit, at all four doors (none of those pseudo-fastback "sedans" have a rear seat I can use with adult passengers), controls that are within easy reach and readily identifiable without taking my eyes off the road, no intrusions into leg or arm (particularly elbows) space, good visibility in all directions, and proper seat comfort for extended drives (Los Angeles, CA to Billings, MT, for example). Also, it must be a car because I transport an older woman with mobility issues who cannot climb into a truck, van, or SUV.
Admittedly, as an ex-linebacker (back in the day), I'm an outlier, as were my fullback father, my defensive end brother, and my basketball center sister.
Quite a while ago, I found the closest thing to perfect for me: a 2004 Jaguar XJ (the body continued to 2009, the newer ones do NOT work for me).
Look at the pictures and see how much glass area the car has, how the tall roof line gives plenty of head room, and the easy button layout for commonly used features.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/photos/jaguar_xj_2006 [thecarconnection.com]
https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/38151751.jpg&f=1 [duckduckgo.com]
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Friday March 01 2019, @10:38AM
From the Tesla announcement :-
But is that a way for Tesla to get a lot of short-term loans I wonder?
And reading that again, what is meant by you can "return it for free"? Free to Tesla? You don't have to pay to return it?
(Score: 2) by DavePolaschek on Friday March 01 2019, @03:16PM
You don't, and because auto manufacturers lie on their headroom numbers in the rare cases that they even make them public (ok, they all just use their own way of measuring, meaning that 30" of headroom in a GMC can be more than 2" different than 30" of headroom in a Ford) you can't even compare the numbers (if you can find them) usefully.
But if the numbers actually matter to you, the Tesla likely won't fit you.