First batch of Model 3s produced will be "Long Range" versions

[omgwtfbyobbq]

The California Air Resources Board's latest and greatest Executive Order is for one "MODEL 3 LONG RANGE"!

https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/onroad/cert/pcldtmdv/2017/tesla_pc_a3740018_0_z_e.pdf

The speculative side of my wants to believe that early reservation holders will get "Long Range" Model 3s on the house, per Elon's comment, but realistically, that probably won't happen. When the Model S when it was first produced, the certifications for the 60kWh/85kWh didn't come until December of 2012 (The initial certifications were for the "S3").

On the plus side, it looks like the first 28 cars, and possibly (hopefully) the employee orders will be the longer range/larger battery versions.

 

[TEG]

I think that Tesla said a while back that the initial production will all get the larger battery size.

In terms of "long range" that might mean that CARB wants the aero wheels too, which aren't to everyone's liking.

 

[ChadS]

I haven't looked closely, but are we sure the aero wheels are really separate wheels, and not just covers for the "real" wheels? I think the customer choice might be between 18" and 19", but everybody gets a cover.

That would allow Tesla to ship the covers on the wheels as standard which means they can count them in EPA tests, but customers can take them off if they don't like the look. I might take them off for around town, but put them on for road trips.

A former Tesla employee once told me they had tried to do that for the Model S, but were afraid the covers would scratch the wheels. Maybe they found a better way to attach the covers.

 

[Speight]

I haven't looked closely, but are we sure the aero wheels are really separate wheels, and not just covers for the "real" wheels? I think the customer choice might be between 18" and 19", but everybody gets a cover.

That would allow Tesla to ship the covers on the wheels as standard which means they can count them in EPA tests, but customers can take them off if they don't like the look. I might take them off for around town, but put them on for road trips.

A former Tesla employee once told me they had tried to do that for the Model S, but were afraid the covers would scratch the wheels. Maybe they found a better way to attach the covers.

So far, we've only seen two types of wheels on the RC cars. All of the 18" wheels we've seen are designed to support the aero covers (and also look OK without them), wheres the 19" wheels look nicer but do not appear to be designed to support covers. The earlier sightings of the 18" wheels were missing the covers, whereas all or almost all of the more recent sightings of the 18" wheels have had them fitted.

As for the "long range" designation, my guess is that is just a placeholder for the larger battery size, and Tesla didn't put in the actual size yet as they knew that the document would be published.

 

[TEG]

We don't know yet. Some people have claimed that the Aero are solid and not covers.

My assumption is that the 18" comes with the Aero cover (not meant to be removed routinely) and the 19" won't have a cover.
A while back we saw a lot of RCs with 18" aluminum wheels that looked a bit unfinished. I assume that those were the ones waiting for covers. Now that they have the Aero RCs we don't see the old "bare" 18" wheels anymore. Anyways, this will probably be cleared up tomorrow night.

 

[HumanGenome]

If the Model 3 doesn't have the $35k price point immediately available at launch for employee reservations (some of the very first deliveries) then I would be shocked. That is the most important figure about the Model 3 and the very first ones can't even be configured at $35k? Elon also has said that he does not like prioritizing more expensive vehicles in terms of delivery timing.That does not support the long range battery exclusivity at launch.

 

[kengchang]

If the Model 3 doesn't have the $35k price point immediately available at launch for employee reservations (some of the very first deliveries) then I would be shocked. That is the most important figure about the Model 3 and the very first ones can't even be configured at $35k? Elon also has said that he does not like prioritizing more expensive vehicles in terms of delivery timing.That does not support the long range battery exclusivity at launch.

I am pretty sure it will be available for configure; however, the delivery date will be something like mid 2018.

 

[Foxhound199]

Elon also has said that he does not like prioritizing more expensive vehicles in terms of delivery timing.

He's also said this:

“Our default plan as we have done in the past is that the initial sales are relatively highly optioned versions of the car, because we’ve got to pay back the investment of the tooling and everything, so it makes sense to have the higher optioned versions first. That’s what we did with the S and obviously again with the X.”

 

[eSpiritIV]

A year ago, an employee told me that all of them got "signature versions" which at the time the plan for what that was may not have been figured out. If employees get their cars first, it would be odd to have a base model "signature" car.

 

[HumanGenome]

There's just something a bit odd about purposefully delaying a smaller battery pack to your employees after telling them they had priority ahead of the mass market when you advertise the vehicle at $35k. If I were an employee making $70k at Tesla and really excited about the Model 3 and could only afford the $35k model to find I had to wait until Mid 2018 after thinking I had priority I would be pretty pissed.

 

[geometro]

There's just something a bit odd about purposefully delaying a smaller battery pack to your employees after telling them they had priority ahead of the mass market when you advertise the vehicle at $35k. If I were an employee making $70k at Tesla and really excited about the Model 3 and could only afford the $35k model to find I had to wait until Mid 2018 after thinking I had priority I would be pretty pissed.

Agreed on this, but here is one possibility-- sell only a 75kwh battery, but software lock it for employees that don't want to pay extra. Only offer the unlocked (more expensive) battery to the public.
Just a thought.

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

They could allow employees and early reservation holders (wishfully thinking) to use the whole capacity of a larger battery por gratis to get more battery pack performance data in a shorter time period.

 

[Dynastar]

The simple fact is you can't profitably please everyone and have a successful and smooth ramp. Despite Tesla's stated goals (employees get priority) you're not to be able to pull that off 100% in the real world. I think most employees will understand that, and a few will be upset, and that's life.

 

[nd4spd569]

Maybe the employee discount gets them $35k car with larger battery??

 

[Canuck]

He's also said this:

“Our default plan as we have done in the past is that the initial sales are relatively highly optioned versions of the car, because we’ve got to pay back the investment of the tooling and everything, so it makes sense to have the higher optioned versions first. That’s what we did with the S and obviously again with the X.”

Yes, but that was well before he said that performance and dual motor versions will be produced later, which basically means that basic models will be made first.

Tesla Model 3 will not be available with all-wheel-drive dual motors at launch, says Elon Musk

 

[JoRey]

That does not make sense to me. The amount of cells that It takes to make a 55 vs 75 Kwh battery is huge. I think that one of the biggest bottlenecks will be the batteries the Gigafactory is not fully operational and still has to ramp up production of the new style cells. Also consider that high performance AWD Model III's will not be available from the start. Even the Model S got backlogged due to the demand of the 100Kwh battery.

 

[BluestarE3]

Even the Model S got backlogged due to the demand of the 100Kwh battery.

Wasn't that due to a backlog of the battery packs rather than of the component cells?

 

[BluestarE3]

Yes, but that was well before he said that performance and dual motor versions will be produced later, which basically means that basic models will be made first.

Tesla Model 3 will not be available with all-wheel-drive dual motors at launch, says Elon Musk

Can't there be highly optioned RWD non-performance cars? A larger (and more costly) battery pack should fit the bill, along with other upgrades such as paint, interior, wheels, etc.

 

[Canuck]

Can't there be highly optioned RWD non-performance cars? A larger (and more costly) battery pack should fit the bill, along with other upgrades such as paint, interior, wheels, etc.

Yes, there will definitely be options but for those of us looking forward to P and D his first comment about highly optioned cars mislead us, even if not intentionally. He also now says they are " minimizing configuration complexity to keep the production ramp on schedule”. Perhaps that's only limited to P and D but there could be other things like the bigger battery being available later -- maybe we'll find out tomorrow.

 

[GasKilla]

I can't wait until tomorrow when all the speculation will be moot