I wonder sometimes if the (oft-delayed, extremely-complex) X was a "mistake" and if Musk & Co. should have jumped headfirst into the mass market EV race after the initial success of the Model S, say, circa late-2013.
I agree. I think the Model X was supposed to be "easy". Just plop a Crossover / SUV body on to the existing Model S skateboard. Unfortunately complicating things with the Falcon Wing doors, pano windshield and such just consumed engineering cycles and delayed the delivery of the X and by extension the 3. I'm not saying the Model X isn't a fantastic vehicle, but like the Model S is going to be somewhat niche simply due to the high cost. Getting to the Model 3 needs to be a priority.
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But yeah, if you need me to answer that: Tesla has said from day one what the base price would be for a Model 3, and that IS lower than the base price of the Bolt.
Well, when I ordered my Model S pre-production, it was promised as a sub-$50k car. It was for a minute or two...
And while GM has given us some sort of specs for the Bolt (mostly just copying what Tesla said they'd be doing), Tesla is the only company to actually produce a real world 200 mile EV and they've guaranteed the same for the Model 3.
Yes, we have promises. I have no reason to doubt them either, but all I was trying to say is we have an actual car in the Bolt and only speculation and promises with the Model 3.
Tesla has the SuperCharger network, GM does not. Tesla continues to advance AP, GM isn't even in the same ballpark. Tesla does OTA updates, GM not so much. Do I need to go on?
GM (Cadillac) has SuperCruise which seems very similar to Tesla's AP (but sure, Tesla got there first). Tesla does have the Supercharger network, but unfortunately for us in Canada, it came quite late and stations are few and far between. Will it get better? Well, they do promise so if you can get past the ever slipping projections. I think with many more EVs coming to market (a good thing, in my mind) we'll see Level 3 build-out pick up. Tesla kinda had to go the route they did being early to the EV thing and all.
Look, I'm not trying to crap on Tesla. I own one and love it. Their goal of accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles is
working judging by the number of new plug-in cars coming to market. To me, the Bolt looks like an outstanding product and I hope it does well in the market. Honestly, if it were available when I bought my Model S I might have bought it instead. The Model S was about double what I'd spent on a new car in the past, but was the only thing that could deal with my (at the time) 100 mile round trip commute and do so all electrically. Kudos to GM for getting a little competitive and bringing such a product to market. When we actually have a Model 3 to see and learn about, I'll judge it then. I'm sure I'll love it too.