One thing I haven't understood on this forum lately is all those expecting the Model 3 to "beat" the Bolt in base model range. Here's why I think it’s not only a bad idea for Tesla, but also for consumers:
1) The difference is trivial, even at a 215 mile base. I see exactly zero buyers saying "I was cross-shopping the Bolt and the Model 3, but since the base model Bolt has AN ENTIRE 25 MORE MILES BASE RANGE!!! I coughed up the extra $2,500 and splurged for the Bolt." Tesla will essentially make zero more sales than it would if the base was 250 over 215 miles, especially since they're production constraint. This small increase in range matters to very few people in the real world, and you can expect most of them to either buy a bigger battery, or factor in time to supercharge in their day.
2) KwH are valuable, and Tesla has an immense demand for every battery module that exits the Gigafactory. For approximately every 18 cars they build with a 250 mile battery, they can build 20 cars with a 220 mile battery. This difference adds up over time as for 180,000 base models 3 with a larger battery, the same batteries could be split to build 20,000 more cars.
3) YOU DONT NEED THE EXTRA RANGE. I can’t tell you how much I tell this to people looking to buy a Tesla. I bought a once base 70 khw battery (230 mile EPA range), and If there was any battery smaller than it available, I would've saved the money and bought that instead. As long as the battery is sufficient for your daily commute, you don't need the extra 20 miles, it just doesn't make any difference. With the superchargers, you won’t be able to skip a charger with 20-30 miles and the only difference would be you staying at the charger for a extra 5 minutes.
4) Cost. This is a car which Tesla needs to make them money. The idea that they would throw in an extra $1000 dollars into the battery is not something productive, especially if it doesn't bring back any customers in return. Heck I would much rather they spend that $1000 on better interior materials than a battery I will never use.
5) Tesla needs to sell the bigger battery as well. If the base range is 250 miles and the top of the line is only 60 more miles, expect a lot less people to splurge on the bigger battery. Now if the difference is actually closer to 80-90 miles, you can expect a higher percentage of buyers to go for the larger battery.
I feel like these ideas are generally from people who have not experienced long range BEVs with supercharging. These differences don’t matter in the real world.
And If the concern is bad press, the Model 3 is already cheaper than the Bolt and there will be an option with far greater range for a higher price on the Model 3. Furthermore, why would Tesla even care about a few misinformed articles at this point with over 400k preorders and lots of demand?
1) The difference is trivial, even at a 215 mile base. I see exactly zero buyers saying "I was cross-shopping the Bolt and the Model 3, but since the base model Bolt has AN ENTIRE 25 MORE MILES BASE RANGE!!! I coughed up the extra $2,500 and splurged for the Bolt." Tesla will essentially make zero more sales than it would if the base was 250 over 215 miles, especially since they're production constraint. This small increase in range matters to very few people in the real world, and you can expect most of them to either buy a bigger battery, or factor in time to supercharge in their day.
2) KwH are valuable, and Tesla has an immense demand for every battery module that exits the Gigafactory. For approximately every 18 cars they build with a 250 mile battery, they can build 20 cars with a 220 mile battery. This difference adds up over time as for 180,000 base models 3 with a larger battery, the same batteries could be split to build 20,000 more cars.
3) YOU DONT NEED THE EXTRA RANGE. I can’t tell you how much I tell this to people looking to buy a Tesla. I bought a once base 70 khw battery (230 mile EPA range), and If there was any battery smaller than it available, I would've saved the money and bought that instead. As long as the battery is sufficient for your daily commute, you don't need the extra 20 miles, it just doesn't make any difference. With the superchargers, you won’t be able to skip a charger with 20-30 miles and the only difference would be you staying at the charger for a extra 5 minutes.
4) Cost. This is a car which Tesla needs to make them money. The idea that they would throw in an extra $1000 dollars into the battery is not something productive, especially if it doesn't bring back any customers in return. Heck I would much rather they spend that $1000 on better interior materials than a battery I will never use.
5) Tesla needs to sell the bigger battery as well. If the base range is 250 miles and the top of the line is only 60 more miles, expect a lot less people to splurge on the bigger battery. Now if the difference is actually closer to 80-90 miles, you can expect a higher percentage of buyers to go for the larger battery.
I feel like these ideas are generally from people who have not experienced long range BEVs with supercharging. These differences don’t matter in the real world.
And If the concern is bad press, the Model 3 is already cheaper than the Bolt and there will be an option with far greater range for a higher price on the Model 3. Furthermore, why would Tesla even care about a few misinformed articles at this point with over 400k preorders and lots of demand?