Standard Range Model 3 Now Available for $35,000

The wait is over – Tesla is now selling a $35,000 all-electric sedan.

The announcement was teased by Elon Musk is recent days and Tesla made the budget Model 3 available for order Thursday afternoon.

The Standard Range base model will start at $35,000, travel 220 miles on a single charge, hit a top speed of 130 mph and go from 0 to 60mph in 5.6 seconds.

Standard Interior includes:



Manual seat and steering adjustment

Cloth seats and base trim

Basic audio

Standard maps and navigation

Center console with storage and 4 USB ports



A version called “Standard Range Plus” is $37,000 with 240 miles of range, a top speed of 140mph, and a 0 to 60 mph time of 5.3 seconds.

Standard Range Plus also give the option for a “Partial Premium Interior” that includes:



12-way power adjustable heated front seats

Premium seat material and trim

Upgraded audio – immersive sound

Standard maps & navigation

LED fog lamps

Center console with storage, 4 USB ports and docking for 2 smartphones



Tesla also announced that it is shifting sales worldwide to online only. “You can now buy a Tesla in North America via your phone in about 1 minute, and that capability will soon be extended worldwide,” the company said in a blog post.

Tesla said it wants to make it easier to try out and return a Tesla. Consumers can now return a car within seven days or 1,000 miles for a full refund.

“Quite literally, you could buy a Tesla, drive several hundred miles for a weekend road trip with friends and then return it for free,” the post said.

Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable Tesla to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing the company to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than expected.

“Over the next few months, we will be winding down many of our stores, with a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers,” the post said. “The important thing for customers in the United States to understand is that, with online sales, anyone in any state can quickly and easily buy a Tesla.”

Tesla also announced a number of firmware upgrades for both new and existing customers. The upgrades will increase the range of the Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive Model 3 to 325 miles, increase the top speed of Model 3 Performance to 162 mph, and add an average of approximately 5% peak power to all Model 3 vehicles.

 

[StealthP3D]

I've seen a model 3 close up at my detailer when he was applying film to the car. He went out of his way to show me how bad the paint and build quality was on the car.

It's best not to form an opinion on build quality of a particular model of car using a sample of exactly one (and a bunch of Internet hub-bub).

Both our Model 3's are nearly flawless, beautiful paint and consistent panel gaps. I've inspected 50-60 new Model 3's sitting in a Bellevue holding lot, although not as thoroughly as the two I own, and they looked equally nice. I've asked two local Model 3 owners about build quality and they said theirs were beautifully done.

It appears that your impression of the Model 3 is much different than mine. I didn't understand this until it was explained by your nearly complete lack of first-hand experience with the Model 3. And if the only one you've seen up close was a poor representation, that completes the explanation. Please, go find one to drive ASAP.

 

[S'toon]

How can they factor "gas savings" into their advertised price of the car?

That part has been irritating people for years. I personally find it disingenuous.

 

[gobble]

I just tried creating an account on tesla.com. It won't let me. It keeps saying "invalid recaptcha" even though there isn't one of those stupid recaptcha's to fill out. The buying process seems dysfunctional from the start.

 

[gobble]

And then I just clicked on a form to ask a product specialist to contact me. When I hit submit button the form goes light and one of those little wheels starts to spin on the page but never stopped. So I'm guessing they'll never get my request for a call. I give up. This company seems to be as f'd up as the WSJ would lead you to believe.

 

[Subby32]

And then I just clicked on a form to ask a product specialist to contact me. When I hit submit button the form goes light and one of those little wheels starts to spin on the page but never stopped. So I'm guessing they'll never get my request for a call. I give up. This company seems to be as f'd up as the WSJ would lead you to believe.

Whitelist the site in, or temporarily disable your ad blocker.

 

[gobble]

And tried the form a second time with an email address instead of a phone number. Same thing, just get the evil spinning wheel with no form being submitted.

I don't know what whitelist means. Don't think I have any pop-up blocker. Tried a different browser and same thing.

 

[Dana1]

I doubt they would remove features from those that currently have EAP...

I’d think the problem might be in software updates...how many versions do they want to run?

 

[StealthP3D]

That part has been irritating people for years. I personally find it disingenuous.

Highlighting the lower cost of ownership due to gas savings and tax incentives only irritates irritable people. Because gas savings are a very real savings that non-EV drivers are not familiar with and not everyone is familiar with the tax savings available where they live. Tesla does not obscure the true cost of the car.

I would only find it disingenuous if it was done without full disclosure. For example, when I go to the Tesla Website to order, on the first page I can select the different trim/ranges, as soon as I select the Standard Range it immediately causes two numbers to pop up:

1) Price before savings of $35,000
2) Price after savings of $26,950

When I click through the options pages without adding any more options, it brings up a pricing summary on the right side of the screen with a clickable "(+) Show Details" right below the two pricing numbers. When I click this it reveals the $8,050 in savings are comprised of:

$3,750 Federal Tax Credit
$4,300 Estimated 6-year gas savings

Right below that I can click on "See how our savings are calculated" and it brings up this:

Gasoline Savings
The average person drives between 10,000 and 15,000 miles and spends between $1,000 and $1,500 on gasoline per year. In comparison, the cost of electricity to power Model 3 over the same distance is up to three times lower. Over the six year average length of car ownership, that's between $4,300 and $6,400 in gasoline savings.

We've assumed a fuel economy of 28 miles per gallon for a comparable gasoline powered sedan, for example, the 2017 BMW 3 series. We've also assumed the national average of $0.13 per kilowatt-hour for electricity and $2.85 per gallon for premium gasoline over the next six years.

Electric Vehicle Incentives
Model 3 qualifies for a federal tax credit and other state sponsored tax incentives and rebates. Visit your state program's website for information on eligibility and availability. As of March 29, 2016, eligibility for California’s rebate is based on income.

Only a naturally irritable person would be irritated by providing the consumer with this information that is so relevant to their purchase consideration. I can see how this might also irritate those who don't want Tesla to sell more cars.

It's my personal observation that they are actually being very conservative on gas savings. For example, our first Model 3 replaced our Volvo S80 T-6 four door sedan which only got 22 mpg average. Fuel in our area for the Volvo (Premium recommended) is over $3.00/gal. And electricity here is around $0.10/kWh (about 25% less than the amount Tesla used). At 12,500 miles/year we are spending $1,705/year on fuel (vs. Tesla's estimated range of $1,000-$1,500). Over six years our fuel cost is $10,227.00. Since that's pretty close to our actual annual mileage, that's a good estimate of what we would spend on fuel over six years. But the fuel savings don't stop after 6 years, they continue for the life of the car. I'm baffled why they don't do it for the 8-year, 100,000-mile length of the powertrain warranty.

I will also point out that the Model 3 is superior to the Volvo in just about every way. Far better handling and performance. Usually, when you get a car that is considerably faster, the cost of ownership goes up, not down. Also, the Model 3 fared better than the Volvo! during crash testing. I hope I never have to take advantage of it's better safety but it's nice to know it's there if I need it.

Who, in their right mind is irritated when consumers are given more relevant info when they are considering a purchase?

 

[S'toon]

Highlighting the lower cost of ownership due to gas savings and tax incentives only irritates irritable people. Because gas savings are a very real savings that non-EV drivers are not familiar with and not everyone is familiar with the tax savings available where they live. Tesla does not obscure the true cost of the car.

I would only find it disingenuous if it was done without full disclosure. For example, when I go to the Tesla Website to order, on the first page I can select the different trim/ranges, as soon as I select the Standard Range it immediately causes two numbers to pop up:

1) Price before savings of $35,000
2) Price after savings of $26,950

When I click through the options pages without adding any more options, it brings up a pricing summary on the right side of the screen with a clickable "(+) Show Details" right below the two pricing numbers. When I click this it reveals the $8,050 in savings are comprised of:

$3,750 Federal Tax Credit
$4,300 Estimated 6-year gas savings

Right below that I can click on "See how our savings are calculated" and it brings up this:



Only a naturally irritable person would be irritated by providing the consumer with this information that is so relevant to their purchase consideration. I can see how this might also irritate those who don't want Tesla to sell more cars.

It's my personal observation that they are actually being very conservative on gas savings. For example, our first Model 3 replaced our Volvo S80 T-6 four door sedan which only got 22 mpg average. Fuel in our area for the Volvo (Premium recommended) is over $3.00/gal. And electricity here is around $0.10/kWh (about 25% less than the amount Tesla used). At 12,500 miles/year we are spending $1,705/year on fuel (vs. Tesla's estimated range of $1,000-$1,500). Over six years our fuel cost is $10,227.00. Since that's pretty close to our actual annual mileage, that's a good estimate of what we would spend on fuel over six years. But the fuel savings don't stop after 6 years, they continue for the life of the car. I'm baffled why they don't do it for the 8-year, 100,000-mile length of the powertrain warranty.

I will also point out that the Model 3 is superior to the Volvo in just about every way. Far better handling and performance. Usually, when you get a car that is considerably faster, the cost of ownership goes up, not down. Also, the Model 3 fared better than the Volvo! during crash testing. I hope I never have to take advantage of it's better safety but it's nice to know it's there if I need it.

Who, in their right mind is irritated when consumers are given more relevant info when they are considering a purchase?

That's not my critique.

My critique is they put the "Price - savings" or whatever front and centre. The real price is less noticeable in the bottom left hand corner. That's misleading and disingenuous.

They can inform consumers of the benefits and cost savings without the chicanery.

 

[Ev_guy]

I don't think anybody who is buying the car is confused by the price with savings (25K and change) that they have on the website.

On the other hand, if they just put their $35K, most folks will miss the tax credits and gas savings in their comparison to gas cars.

So, I don't think its misleading and disingenuous.

 

[Missile Toad]

In almost every survey I've ever seen on the subject buying a car and dealing with car salesmen is one of the least liked experiences by everyone. I think the only group car sales people beat out were dentists.

I did a quick cut-paste of your sentence, above, to Google. I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. Just because 'we've always' talked to salesmen to get cars, doesn't mean that is a) the best or b) the only way. Take a peek at #9 & #10... really underscoring how disliked car salesmen are.
10 Confessions of Car Salesmen

 

[StealthP3D]

That's not my critique.

My critique is they put the "Price - savings" or whatever front and centre. The real price is less noticeable in the bottom left hand corner. That's misleading and disingenuous.

They can inform consumers of the benefits and cost savings without the chicanery.

I would only consider it "chicanery" if it were misleading people. Nobody is fooled (and nobody is trying to fool anyone). In my quick check, I pretended like I wanted to buy a third Model 3 from the Tesla website and I all I saw was that the two prices (before and after savings) were listed side by side in the same font size and it was one click to bring up the exact methodology used to generate the savings (the Tesla methodology used to generate the savings is quoted in my previous post).

I think your "chicanery" comments are misguided.

 

[DutchMark]

We’ve been waiting for the short-range Model 3 with great anticipation. However, the fact that it doesn’t seem to have radio or music streaming is a big let down. We’re getting this fancy vehicle with the big board-computer, but then you have to add a mount for a phone and add a tiny screen to get music? Is there even a decent place to mount a phone?

This one is for my wife, she doesn’t need more than 200 miles of range. And all the other premium features are nice-to-haves. But I can’t imagine a car with no radio as the standard option.

The new Leaf is coming out this month too. I think we’re going to check it out before making a decision.

(We already did the test drive. Mark my word, the stores / show rooms will be back before the end of the year. Not many are going to pay $40,000+ for a car they haven’t seen, tried and have features compared.)

 

[DutchMark]

By the way, in the price breakdown, it doesn’t subtract the $1,000 deposit. So it’s actually a bit misleading it seems, as it actually costs $36,000 and up?

 

[gobble]

They also add a $1,200 destination and doc fee. Again misleading. There is no way to spend $35,000 and get a model 3.

 

[Arpe]

By the way, in the price breakdown, it doesn’t subtract the $1,000 deposit. So it’s actually a bit misleading it seems, as it actually costs $36,000 and up?

Remember to log into your Tesla account before purchase, how else would it know about your reservation?

The vehicle does start at 35.000 $ + 1.200 destination fee.

 

[Arpe]

They also add a $1,200 destination and doc fee. Again misleading. There is no way to spend $35,000 and get a model 3.

Seems like you are better off with the Nissan Leaf then. I would not recommed the new Leaf as they still haven't solved the battery thermal management, but other than that it is a decent electric vehicle.

Good luck with your upcomming EV adventure.

 

[seattlite2004]

They also add a $1,200 destination and doc fee. Again misleading. There is no way to spend $35,000 and get a model 3.

Don't forget tax (where applicable) and registration.

 

[mattjs33]

I did a quick cut-paste of your sentence, above, to Google. I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. Just because 'we've always' talked to salesmen to get cars, doesn't mean that is a) the best or b) the only way. Take a peek at #9 & #10... really underscoring how disliked car salesmen are.
10 Confessions of Car Salesmen

I sold cars one summer in college because all my youth I wanted to open a car dealership, since I loved cars.

Found out that cars salesmen, by and large, are not Car People.

But what I disliked about the job almost immediately, is that everyone who came through the door, before I even talked to them, already hated me.

I fulfilled my summer commitment but I was glad to leave. I could do it for a living if I had to, but I would choose almost anything else first.

 

[DutchMark]

Remember to log into your Tesla account before purchase, how else would it know about your reservation?

The vehicle does start at 35.000 $ + 1.200 destination fee.

I did log in. It even says the reservation number on the first page.