Mid range battery available now?

[CullinKin]

Making me feel better about taking delivery on Sunday... thanks! Definitely don't want to miss the tax credit and the $4k (taxable) low carbon credit my work offers for purchases in 2018.

Ooh that sounds like a great company! How did you go about finding out about that credit? I'm wondering if mine has one...

 

[starter146]

Ooh that sounds like a great company! How did you go about finding out about that credit? I'm wondering if mine has one...

Shows up on my work portal. $4k for purchases and $2k for leases. It's been around since 2012 (i think) but it's subject to annual approval.

 

[djgarrett21]

Wow, this is great news for those fence sitters waiting for the $35k version. If I was in that boat I'd be jumping on this!

-No guarantee of any tax credit given: the large (presumably) number of people waiting for the SR, Tesla's slower than planned production ramp, current political climate and recent bills to end the EV tax credit. If you look at it that way then the MR3 is only $2500 more than the SR3.
-For that extra $2500 you get: premium interior, premium sound system, and an extra 40 miles range.

This is a really good move by Tesla the more I think about it. At $45k and with the EV credit in the air, I think Tesla is going to convert a lot of line waiters.

 

[GoingVerde]

“Update: CEO Elon Musk says that RWD is still available with Long Range battery pack if ordered “off menu” for the next “week or so”.”
Tesla launches new Model 3 with ‘mid-range’ battery for $45,000, changes pricing structure

So LR RWD it not discontinued just yet. Probably left over inventory?

 

[staze]

Ahh so it IS only the white being $500 less (which i said on page 5, @Vitold you can remove your "disagree" now )

Burning question here. I haven't taken delivery yet either with white interior. Finger's crossed.

 

[idleuser]

The best deal was probably the LR+no options but the MR+ premium interior and a software limited battery pack isn't half bad with the white interior being available now.

 

[djgarrett21]

The best deal was probably the LR+no options but the MR+ premium interior and a software limited battery pack isn't half bad with the white interior being available now.

Mid Range will not be a software limited Long Range. It will have a smaller pack.

Also likely the range will not be sandbagged like the LR. It will probably be a "true" EPA rated range.

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

The best deal was probably the LR+no options but the MR+ premium interior and a software limited battery pack isn't half bad with the white interior being available now.

The MR is actually a smaller pack and not software limited. Weight is listed on Tesla’s website as 3,686 lbs.

 

[Gavyne]

The best deal was probably the LR+no options but the MR+ premium interior and a software limited battery pack isn't half bad with the white interior being available now.

Elon Musk on Twitter

It’s a long range battery with fewer cells. Non-cell portion of the pack is disproportionately high, but we can get it done now instead of ~February

 

[Uncle Paul]

I believe that this new announced configuration is brilliant

When White interior was in limited supply, they charged $500 more to tamp down demand. Now that their supply is up, they can lower the price and sell more of them.

Pricing up front with the tax incentives and fuel savings really helps them to tell the story of how the net price of the car may be far less than a compable priced ICE.

Don't believe they have their low production cost standard battery yet. Also have not finished the base model configuration, so they are offering a comprimise.

At this time, getting the mid range battery, plus the full tax credit will give the largest % off the total cost. This config will appeal to those wanting to optimize their costs but willing to give up some range and a little performance.

Essentially both cars will offer similar driving experiences, except at absolute full throttle.

Benefits to Tesla will be able to produce about 15% more Model 3, if the batteries and extra motor are constrained.

Also able to offer the absolute best chance for the most buyers to qualify for the tax credits before EOY.

Brilliant move Tesla.

 

[voip-ninja]

And/or potentially remove some of the bottleneck that's slowing their Powerwall business (which is known to be supply limited because of cell production limits).

It's pretty substantial, too. If 260mi is an "actual" rather than sandbagged range then the pack likely requires >20% less cells (more like 22%), which means for every 4th car they'll have more than enough cells for a 5th.

It also likely means quite lower profit margins since they are slashing price by $5,000 and 16 kw of battery probably only saves them $2,000 at production.

 

[idleuser]

Interesting! So it's probably somewhere between 50-75kwh.

 

[dhanson865]

I'm not sure about that. The MR Model 3 is now in direct competition with the new long range Nissan LEAF and Chevy Bolt, both are trying to sell their new models for $37k - $44k. Tesla has now stepped in and said "hold on we want to play". For $45k you have a Model 3 that has better range, better performance, better tech, and safer.

SR Model 3 at 220mi won't quite have the range advantage. So I'm not so sure MR will go away at all since it competes so well against the upcoming LEAF and Bolt.

Standard Range is a max price point and a minimum range not an exact config. There is still the possibility that they up the range number by the time it comes out.

Still even if they lowered the range number I'd take the standard range Model 3 over any Nissan or Chevy "competitor" and I'd use 3 of your 4 by saying it has "better performance, better tech, and safer."

200 miles range with thermal cooling for the main pack beats the snot out of 24 kWh with no thermal cooling for the main pack (starts at 100 miles range and loses 6% per year). My 2012 is down to 63% SOH meaning it's lost 37% of the range it had at new. I can't see a lot of people paying new prices for anything named Nissan Leaf if there are ample supplies of anything named Model 3.

 

[ngogas]

Tesla owe me 500. Paid for white interior 1500 and now only 1k. I’d take 3 shares of tesla stocks pleas. Lol. One extra for my time and interest.

 

[CullinKin]

Tesla owe me 500. Paid for white interior 1500 and now only 1k. I’d take 3 shares of tesla stocks pleas. Lol. One extra for my time and interest.

Agreed.

 

[voip-ninja]

Interesting! So it's probably somewhere between 50-75kwh.

Pretty easy to figure out. 260 range true EPA vs 330 true EPA range of LR RWD works out to 20% less battery.

Since LR battery was about 78kw this pack is around 63.

 

[djgarrett21]

It also likely means quite lower profit margins since they are slashing price by $5,000 and 16 kw of battery probably only saves them $2,000 at production.

Interesting implications to that. From a business perspective what would drive Tesla to make a move like this? Perhaps concern that come '19 not as many SR holdouts will convert to orders, pressure from other mfg's (LEAF, etc), SR version still not profitable, reservation/order backlog is drying up so this is another demand "lever", all of the above.

 

[brkaus]

Damn, I am taking delivery of a LR RWD on Sunday. Now I'm debating whether or not I should reschedule and get the Mid w/ white interior. Decisions....decisions.

I'd keep the LR RWD. Never have too much range.

If you're into white, it looks great, that may be a motivator. But I have never ever regretting getting the S100D over the smaller battery.

 

[Sunshine Speed]

I have the LR battery and I'm surprised everyone here is saying they need the range. The $9000 plus tax I paid is not worth 1 or 2 times a year when I need the range (road trips). This MR battery for $4k less is a better deal but the best deal is the SR battery. The 220 mile range is more than enough for a single day of driving, even 150 miles is plenty for me. I was worried about losing the federal tax credit completely if the laws change so I ordered in August. On the positive side I feel great about only paying $3k for the FSD upgrade which comes with a free upgrade to the new Tesla computer/chip next year.

 

[brkaus]

I have the LR battery and I'm surprised everyone here is saying they need the range. The $9000 plus tax I paid is not worth 1 or 2 times a year when I need the range (road trips). This MR battery for $4k less is a better deal but the best deal is the SR battery. The 220 mile range is more than enough for a single day of driving, even 150 miles is plenty for me. I was worried about losing the federal tax credit completely if the laws change so I ordered in August. On the positive side I feel great about only paying $3k for the FSD upgrade which comes with a free upgrade to the new Tesla computer/chip next year.

I'd generally agree w/ you, except for bad weather. There is a pretty significant range drop in cold weather, esp for lots of shorter trips.

I've had a 220 mile trip with a strong headwind that I had to stop 1/2 way due to range.

If you can afford it, I would do it.