The scheduled release of the Tesla Model 3 in the second half of next year means a lot of things to the American electric car manufacturer more than just looking at making handsome profits from it.
The official rollout of the electric sedan signals the completion of Tesla’s first master plan which the company made known even before the company launched its first electric vehicle in 2008, the Tesla Roadster.
The Tesla Roadster was a low-volume, high-cost EV used to fund the production of the Model S, a cheaper car produced on a larger scale, notes The Week of UK.
The launch and first deliveries of the Model 3 will see Tesla tick off the last box on its to-do list on its first master plan, the set of goals CEO Elon Musk outlined in 2006 to develop the company into a key player in the global automotive industry.
The Model 3 shall continue the pattern as it is set to become the cheapest and most popular EV yet and will be produced in significantly larger numbers compared to its predecessors.
Some critics are even saying that the Tesla Model 3 will be the most important car in the company’s relatively short history. Aside from being the first Tesla car that will be mass produced, it shall also be sold at a very affordable price.
Indicative of how the Model 3 is expected to be warmly received by customers, particularly in the already anxiously waiting American market, there are now 400,000 prospective buyers who have placed their reservations on the Model 3 and many will be waiting into 2018 and beyond for it.
The Model 3 is also the first vehicle to be built on the company’s third-generation platform, which should mean denser, more efficient battery packs for a fairly significant all-electric range.
Distinctly Tesla
Just by looking at the car, the overall profile of the Model 3 is distinctly Tesla but the electric vehicle also introduces some new design traits highlighted by the flat, grille-less face at the front.
It is smaller than the Model S and looks much stubbier as the short front and rear overhangs downsizing the overall profile.
The glass roof stretches from the bottom of the windshield into the hunched rear end, although the Model 3 does not have a hatchback boot. Instead, a second storage space lies under the bonnet.
Slight changes around the back end have also been made after Elon Musk said that the company has responded to concerns that the boot opening was too small and had been hampered by the car’s overall design.
The Model 3 also looks set to be more practical than the pre-production prototype Tesla has shown.
Wrapped in skepticisms
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promised to produce 100,000 units of the Model 3 by next year and about 200,000 in 2018.
Many are skeptical of the CEO’s promise of delivering the vehicle by the end of next year. Tesla has been one of the brands whose reputation was all about being more focused on technology and have only launched electric vehicles that are desirable on the global market.
With the pre-orders piling up for its upcoming electric sedan, Tesla is expected to manufacture the Model 3 in large numbers unlike any of its previous vehicles, reports Mobile & Apps.
While Tesla Motor Corporation is still looking at how to ramp up its production for its upcoming Tesla Model 3 slated for release next year, the Chevrolet Bolt will be making it to the market before the end of the year, giving the latter a clear headstart.