What is your true Model 3 budget?

[WichitaHack]

I am hoping to keep it under $55K with dual motor, and biggest battery available. No glass roof for me, no need for autopilot, and smallest/cheapest wheel tire combo (since I plan on having aftermarket wheels/tires for her before she is even delivered) should help keep the cost down.

 

[Sharkbait]

$2,500 for "Premium Interior". What specifically will premium interior include? I'm including it in my total estimate of $59,000 (pre-incentive) price tag, but I'll certainly be closer to my initial thoughts on spending $55,000 if I don't add it.

I suppose my other question would be related to AWD and two motors. Do these motors run independently of each other? Can one fail and the vehicle still run on the other? Will it be possible to disengage the faulty motor from the cockpit of the car? The following article concerns me but if the motors run independently of each other, I would probably add in AWD just in case:

Two-Thirds of Earliest Tesla Drivetrains To Need Replacement In 60,000 Miles, Owner Data Suggests

 

[JoeCoolMan24]

I really probably shouldn't be buying this car anyway, and if I don't have a more lucrative job in the next 14 months or whatever, I probably won't be, but my goal is to not exceed $40K. I'm thinking bigger battery, and tech package. Kind of doubt those 2 options will cost <$5000.

 

[fspilot]

55k without tax incentives. Otherwise 62500

 

[alseTrick]

It depends.

Will upgrading from the base battery FWD to AWD provide minimal improvement in range like with the model S (0-60 time has almost no value to me)? If so, I won't get it. Not at a cost of $4,000-5,000. The current model S upgrade cost of $13,000 to go from 70kwh AWD to 90kwh AWD would be $9,000 with a 30% decrease in costs provided by the gigafactory. If a 20kwh upgrade took the model 3 from 225 miles to 275 miles, I'd certainly consider it. Any less than that and I wouldn't, though I'd only actually need the increased range a few times per year.

Give me the base white paint and base wheels. I'm not paying $1000-1500 when most other car companies I've looked at charge less than $500 for their non-white/black/silver colors and I don't want a black exterior (or interior) living in south Florida. I don't want a sunroof ($1500 for the model 3?) because of maintenance, but I might spend $750-1000 for the fixed all-glass roof. I'll definitely pay $750 for that figured ash wood decor and $2000-2500 for leather seats. I'd probably fork out the $3000 for the adaptive turning headlights and carbon air purification filters (bioweapon defense mode and accent lights, etc, aren't needed, but if they're included in the cost...).

I'll probably purchase the autopilot after I've already had the car. I don't need it but once it nears/becomes fully autonomous, I'll check it out.

I have no desire to purchase Insane or Ludicrous modes, subzero package, the sound upgrade, the charger upgrade or the suspension upgrade. I'd pay $1000 for supercharger access, but I think Tesla would be making a mistake to not include it in the base price. The two biggest concerns from consumers in regards to EVs is the price and the range. By not including it standard, you likely lose customers you may otherwise lure.

Most likely:

Fixed-Glass Roof: $1000
Ash Decor: $750
Leather Seats: $2500
Supercharger: $1000* (if non-standard)
Premium Package: $3000

Subtotal Upgrades: $8250
Base: $35,000

Total: $43,250

I'm expecting the $3750 tax credit at this point. I would hope anybody that ordered in April would get at least the 50% credit.

 

[MP3Mike]

Will upgrading from the base battery FWD to AWD provide minimal improvement in range like with the model S (0-60 time has almost no value to me)? If so, I won't get it. Not at a cost of $4,000-5,000. The current model S upgrade cost of $13,000 to go from 70kwh AWD to 90kwh AWD would be $9,000 with a 30% decrease in costs provided by the gigafactory.

Just to be clear the base Model 3 will be rear wheel drive, not front wheel drive.

And if the Model 3 is like the Model S you won't be able to add the larger battery to the base RWD version, you have to add AWD as well. My guess is that it will cost $4k for the AWD and $7.5k for the larger battery making a total upgrade cost of $11,500 to get the larger battery. The plus to that is that if Supercharging costs extra on the base model it will probably be included in the larger battery upgrade making it sting a little less.

 

[alseTrick]

Just to be clear the base Model 3 will be rear wheel drive, not front wheel drive.

And if the Model 3 is like the Model S you won't be able to add the larger battery to the base RWD version, you have to add AWD as well. My guess is that it will cost $4k for the AWD and $7.5k for the larger battery making a total upgrade cost of $11,500 to get the larger battery. The plus to that is that if Supercharging costs extra on the base model it will probably be included in the larger battery upgrade making it sting a little less.

I do understand that. I guess it just didn't come across that way in my comment.

I was estimating the upgraded AWD battery to be $9000 more than the base AWD battery, in addition to the $4000-5000 base battery upgrade to go from FWD to AWD. That comes in at $18,000 for the model S and I budgeted $13,000-14,000 in the model 3.

And that I don't think the base battery AWD upgrade over FWD provides enough improvement to justify the extra $4000-5000. (That's just my opinion based off of the ~5 additional miles of range.)

I'm assuming you believe the gigafactory will reduce battery costs significantly more than 30% by 2018, since $7500 would be a 40% reduction.

I was thinking, I could always trade out all of my listed options above and use that money to cover most of the battery/AWD upgrade. But nah, I'd rather have my daily comforts for 90% of my driving and just suck it up for the extra supercharging time when I take the occasional road trip.

 

[MP3Mike]

And that I don't think the base battery AWD upgrade over FWD provides enough improvement to justify the extra $4000-5000. (That's just my opinion based off of the ~5 additional miles of range.)

Again the Model 3 will not be FWD. It will be RWD. (That alone is enough to get some people to decide the AWD upgrade is worth it.)

AWD also gives you more even tire wear which likely means you won't need to rotate the tires very often if at all.

 

[alseTrick]

Oh, I see what you're saying now. Purely a typo on my part that I just continued using. Is there an edit button?

 

[Tezlah]

Here's my configuration estimate:
- Starting price w/base battery ($35,000)
- Autopilot / Tech Package ($2,500)
- Leather Seats OR Glass Roof ($1,750)
- AWD ($3,000)
- Heated seats ($1,000)
- Non-base color Paint ($1,000)

Total estimated w/ options: $44,250
Total est. w/ $7.5K tax credit: $36,750
Total est. w/ $3,500 tax credit: $40,500

I'm assuming I'll get at least the 50% tax credit.. If I get the full credit, awesome.

 

[Lukas99]

I just do not think Tesla can charge the same prices for upgrades as for the model S... Makes sense if the purchase power of model 3 buyers would be the same as model s but it is not in most of the cases... With most of the M3 volumes, Tesla is targeting new value segments...

More favorable upgrades can actually result in higher avergare price per M3 sold... Better prices create more apetite, if I feel I am getting a better deal, I feel better about me spending more . On a serious note, many upgrades are SW related, hence easy bucks... Further, it still pays off to sell metalic paint for 700USD instead of 1,5k for MS, supercharging for a 1k instead of 2k and so on... Different pricing because of the mass volume production/impact.

Squeezing 5k USD on SW related upgrades (Autopilot, supercharging, etc... ) means 100% margins to Tesla pockets and differnt profitability for M3 assuming, that base price of 35,000 is margin neutral...

 

[voip-ninja]

Here's my configuration estimate:
- Starting price w/base battery ($35,000)
- Autopilot / Tech Package ($2,500)
- Leather Seats OR Glass Roof ($1,750)
- AWD ($3,000)
- Heated seats ($1,000)
- Non-base color Paint ($1,000)

Total estimated w/ options: $44,250
Total est. w/ $7.5K tax credit: $36,750
Total est. w/ $3,500 tax credit: $40,500

I'm assuming I'll get at least the 50% tax credit.. If I get the full credit, awesome.

They are going to have to get more realistic on option packages for this car to line up better with their competitors. On German lux marquees premium paint is a $550 option. Leather seating is typically a $1K option and usually includes other amenities such as better interior trim. Heated seats are about $500. Full winter package might be $1000 or so. The Germans often offer a sport package that has better wheels, brakes, body kit and suspension for around $2K. Tesla won't get away with charging that much just for wheels/tires.

I'm sure Tesla is looking at this and what the market will bear. They also might initially price these options high in order to cash in on tax incentives and then eventually lower the prices when the market will no longer bear the cost if tax-payers aren't covering $7500 of the cost.

I suspect AWD will be bundled with a larger battery... I don't think there's much chance that it will be available with the base battery. I see three levels of battery and I suspect AWD + mid-range battery is going to be a $5,000-$7,500 option package at least initially.

 

[Sharkbait]

I'm assuming you believe the gigafactory will reduce battery costs significantly more than 30% by 2018, since $7500 would be a 40% reduction.

I like what you're saying, but I think a 30% cost reduction, let alone a 40% reduction, would be a big stretch. I don't think technology and manufacturing can improve to lower the cost by that much in the next year or earlier when the battery platform must be well defined, established, and being manufactured in very large quantities.

 

[Lukas99]

I suspect AWD will be bundled with a larger battery... I don't think there's much chance that it will be available with the base battery. I see three levels of battery and I suspect AWD + mid-range battery is going to be a $5,000-$7,500 option package at least initially.

Fully agree with you with the battery + AWD upgrade. This I would buy 100%...

 

[graphic]

But look at my estimates:
Base $ 35,000.00
Supercharging $ 1,500.00
Paint $ 1,000.00
Larger battery $ 7,500.00
AWD $ 4,000.00
Wheels $ 2,500.00
Auto-Pilot $ 2,500.00
Leather Seats $ 2,000.00
Premium Interior $ 2,500.00
Panoramic Roof $ 1,500.00
Fancy trim (Carbon fiber) $ 750.00
HiFi $ 2,000.00
Sub-Zero $ 1,000.00
Peformance $ 10,000.00
Ludicrous $ 5,000.00
High amp charger $ 1,000.00
Towing option $ 750.00
Smart Air Suspension $ 2,500.00
Carbon Fiber Spoiler $ 1,000.00
Grand total: $84,000.00

My total for a Model 3 P90D, based on the estimates MP3Mike Posted:

Base $ 35,000.00
Supercharging $ 1,500.00
Paint $ 1,000.00
Larger battery $ 7,500.00
AWD $ 4,000.00
21" Wheels $ 2,500.00
Auto-Pilot $ 2,500.00
Leather Seats $ 2,000.00
Premium Interior $ 2,500.00
Panoramic Roof $ 1,500.00
Fancy trim (Carbon fiber) $ 0
HiFi $ 2,000.00
Sub-Zero $ 0
Peformance $ 0
Ludicrous $ 0
High amp charger $ 1,000.00
Towing option $0
Smart Air Suspension $ 2,500.00
Carbon Fiber Spoiler $0
Grand total: $65,500.00

 

[Garlan Garner]

My total for a Model 3 P90D, based on the estimates MP3Mike Posted:

Base $ 35,000.00
Supercharging $ 1,500.00
Paint $ 1,000.00
Larger battery $ 7,500.00
AWD $ 4,000.00
21" Wheels $ 2,500.00
Auto-Pilot $ 2,500.00
Leather Seats $ 2,000.00
Premium Interior $ 2,500.00
Panoramic Roof $ 1,500.00
Fancy trim (Carbon fiber) $ 0
HiFi $ 2,000.00
Sub-Zero $ 0
Peformance $ 0
Ludicrous $ 0
High amp charger $ 1,000.00
Towing option $0
Smart Air Suspension $ 2,500.00
Carbon Fiber Spoiler $0
Grand total: $65,500.00

ARRRGGGHHH... Although I believe you are right....I'm not liking that bottom line price.

 

[Chopr147]

right now my budget is 45k, but i just read that NYS added a 2k rebate -so i guess i can up it to 47k

Awesome! I just Googled it Keep the rebates coming. Maybe I can get the car for free I certainly give this liberal state enough of my hard earned money

 

[graphic]

ARRRGGGHHH... Although I believe you are right....I'm not liking that bottom line price.

I know, but if I subtract the Texas Tax credit (If we have any) $65,500 - $7,500, then the Model 3 P90D will cost $58,000.

 

[Trail Runner]

Here is what I am figuring to pay.

$35,000 base
$7500 battery
$2500 autopilot
$4000 awd
$1500 pano roof
$1000 metallic silver
$2500 stereo
$1300 licensing &delivery
$250 hitch
$450 chademo adapter
$2000 Supercharger access
$2100, 4yrs. Service package
$2000 Opticoat &-tint
$500 wall charger
$200 electrician (already have 240v outlet in garage)
$250 Floor mats

$63,000-$7500 tax credit= $55,500

 

[MP3Mike]

People doing estimates should remember that it is likely that Supercharger access will be included in the battery upgrade. (Assuming they charge for it at all.)