Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that his company's "mass market sedan", the Model 3, can be pre-ordered in March 2016 for $35,000. The cars will not be available until 2017 at the earliest. From CNBC:
What's taking so long, you ask? Right now, the batteries that would power the Model 3 would cost about as much as the car is slated to. Tesla is building an enormous lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Nevada to make its own batteries for far less money — the "Gigafactory" mentioned in Musk's tweet.
Not much more can be revealed about the Model 3 except that, as Musk mentioned cryptically during a Q&A session on Reddit, "It won't look like other cars." What does that mean, exactly? We'll find out in March.
In the meantime, you can order yourself a new Model X — if you have the cash. The entry level model will cost around $5,000 more than a Model S with the same options, Musk wrote in yet another tweet — though you can easily spend well into the six figure range for the "Signature" high-end series.
Tesla customers will begin receiving their Model X "all-electric SUVs" beginning on Sept. 29.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by WalksOnDirt on Saturday September 05 2015, @12:54AM
The last news I have heard is that the battery cost is one quarter the selling price. That would put the 85 kWh battery at about $25,000. It might be a little less now, but not less than $20,000. This is why they need a new battery factory.
He's an insane optimist.
I expect it to take around 50 kWh to get that range. The weight of the vehicle has little to do with the highway range.