Tesla Launches $35,000 Standard Model 3

[Zarathustra[H]]

I see these things around here (NJ) all the time. The concept is nice, but for that kind of money what's with the crappy looking tablet stapled to the dash? Do we really want drivers looking down and away from the road to adjust the climate control or see the speedometer?

Physical buttons are objectively superior when driving (you don't have to look at them to press them). All cars should have physical buttons for the radio and climate control for safety reasons alone.

Couldn't agree more.

I don't want to change anything about the driving experience compared to traditional cars. They have had a hundred years to incrementally perfect the ergonomics, usability and human factors design of the cockpit. Reinventing the wheel just to be different is a terrible idea.

Just give me a car that is just like a good driver-centric design from the 90's, except make the drivetrain electric.

That's all I want.


You can take your tablets, capacitive button designs, on board AI and internet connectivity, and self driving technologies and shove them somewhere the sun don't shine.

 

[haste.]

A knew a few college students a few years back that were going to buy these, couldn't do it. We will see.
I think the one guy told me there was a couple year waiting list back then...if Tesla can build/sell these, seems like there is at least demand.

A friend of mine bought one of the mid level 3s and was able to get delivered shortly after production ramped up a handful of months. There is definitely a wait but I think the "years" is gone. At one point yeah...

it is a nice car, not for me really. If I were ever to get a Tesla it's the 95 so I can make my friends want to vomit on onramps. First time I experienced that was pretty intense, under or around 2 seconds, it's hard to explain.

 

[jnemesh]

Everybody else is just so far behind at this point... The 2020's are going to be super interesting. The $35k Model 3 is sitting just under the Bolt and Kona.

I'd buy a used Bolt because it's kinda ugly, I wouldn't Mind a Kona they look decent and perform well from what I've seen.

View attachment 145127

https://evrater.com/evs

A decade and a half and a half and it's tipping, I'm excited for the next decade of everyone going balls deep in trying to out-EV the other guys.

If this isn't one big step closer to individual liberty I don't know what is...

View attachment 145130

People can still own horses.

View attachment 145131

Music to my ears. Sounds like galloping to me.

Yeah, no. On the performance side of things, you are seeing Porche, McLarren and others dive into using electric motors to OUTPERFORM gas powered supercars. You can try to hang onto the past...but eventually you will be paying $20/gallon for the privilege of driving that relic.

 

[jnemesh]

Hmm...let's see, I can buy a stripped down Tesla for $35k or a loaded Kia e-Niro. Tough call.

 

[Furious_Styles]

A friend of mine bought one of the mid level 3s and was able to get delivered shortly after production ramped up a handful of months. There is definitely a wait but I think the "years" is gone. At one point yeah...

it is a nice car, not for me really. If I were ever to get a Tesla it's the 95 so I can make my friends want to vomit on onramps. First time I experienced that was pretty intense, under or around 2 seconds, it's hard to explain.

Last I read the backlog of demand/reservations has just about been finished. This year will be more of a year to see how tesla does selling cars rather than struggling to keep up the supply.

 

[Oldmodder]

Well aint that nice.

BUT ! in Denmark that Tesla will be 70,000 USD,,,, and that's at least and including what ever subsidies there still are on EV cars.

But then again that price are fair as Danish streets are much better than streets in any other country, and the traffic here are also much better in any respect,,,,,,,,,, wait a minute,,,,, no its not

 

[Deleted member 126051]

No more physical locations.

Now all Tesla's customer abuse is done via e-mail or over the phone!

WOO!

 

[refraxion]

So, when everyone bitched about malaise era that was cool?

Cool, you don’t like Tesla (probably any EV for that matter). We get it. Keep liking what you like.

I have no dog in this fight, I just see obvious Bias lol.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

I don't want my cars to behave like software. Seems they build to a common theme and then lock features behind pay walls. It's only a matter of time before they start offering a subscription service to access the extra range.

 

[ryno9100]

I don't want my cars to behave like software. Seems they build to a common theme and then lock features behind pay walls. It's only a matter of time before they start offering a subscription service to access the extra range.

Now we just wait for the "it's only cosmetic" micro-transactions in your car.

 

[causticspill]

It's nice to see that they may finally realize the mass-market-ish target price for the little 3. Sorry though, at this stage of my life (mid-life crisis, what-what?) I'd put $35k into a Camaro or Vette. I need me some big V8 in the garage that I can hold on to before they disappear for good.

I'll save the 'lectric for my golden years.

 

[Lizard Testes]

The model 3 is designed for the future where it drives itself. As a Model 3 owner I can say there's no difference between buttons on a well designed interface and classical buttons. Looks a hell of a lot nicer too without all those ugly buttons filling the car's dash

You can increase the windshield wiper rate without taking your eyes off the road?

 

[refraxion]

CBC has some comments on EV's and cold weather performance of batteries in our environment. Not yet ready for prime time.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/national-electric-vehicles-advances-1.5019046

They quite literally drove one of the lowest ends EV out there. Tesla’s are ready, I see them all over Alberta.

 

[Wierdo]

Man this is nuts, it's like watching the shift from carriage to automobile allover again, and it's happening in our lifetimes, that's pretty cool lol.

 

[MikeTrike]

Yeah, no. On the performance side of things, you are seeing Porche, McLarren and others dive into using electric motors to OUTPERFORM gas powered supercars. You can try to hang onto the past...but eventually you will be paying $20/gallon for the privilege of driving that relic.

Owning a horse is also not cheap.

 

[refraxion]

Couldn't agree more.

I don't want to change anything about the driving experience compared to traditionalDTS cars. They have had a hundred years to incrementally perfect the ergonomics, usability and human factors design of the cockpit. Reinventing the wheel just to be different is a terrible idea.

Just give me a car that is just like a good driver centric design from the 90's, except make the drivetrain electric.

That's all I want.


You can take your tablets, capacitive button designs, on board AI and internet connectivity, and self driving technologies and shove them somewhere the sun don't shine.

Audi already has that with the e-tron. Other manufacturers are basically making a gas vehicle in terms of styling, with electric drive train.

 

[travisty]

You can increase the windshield wiper rate without taking your eyes off the road?

The auto setting has covered all my needs. The button to turn them on lamuallynis quite large so wouldn't be a problem to tap on. It's on the lower left of the screen - under the current speed - so can spot it with a quick glance at speed (which isn't really a glace having it in your perifrial vision)

 

[nutzo]

A recent study from the University of Michigan found most Americans will spend less than half of what one normally would on fuel. The potential to save more exists if you have real-time pricing available to you by your energy provider.

Not sure where they get the "average" price of electricity, but like most studies they seem to have cheaper electrical prices than anyone I know.
I can only assume they are using "best" pricing where you sign up for a plan that gives you cheap overnight electricity for charging, but that doesn't work if you have people at home during the day, since the daytime pricing is then much higher.

I used their assumptions, using my costs for electricity ($.28/kwh) and $3.03 for gas (Costco)
My Camry hybrid has averaged 35 MPG over the past 5 years with over 90% city driving (most during heavy rush hour traffic)

For 100 miles that comes out to $9.24 for electricity (their mileage numbers), and $8.66 for gas (using my actual mileage).

If I where to buy the current model year hybrid that has better mileage, I'd be around $7.21 for gas
​

I don't see any savings with an electric car.

Yes. I could install a 2nd meter just for the car to get cheaper electricity,
but that would take so many years to pay for itself, I'd be retired and looking to move by then.

Only advantage I see for electric, is that I wouldn't need to get it's oil changed or get it smog checked.

 

[[Spectre]]

Cool, you don’t like Tesla (probably any EV for that matter). We get it. Keep liking what you like.

I have no dog in this fight, I just see obvious Bias lol.

Well, by that standard I hate ICE's too. So we're kind of running out of automobiles. For someone with no dog in a fight, you seem to be awfully upset about the problems they have.

 

[Wierdo]

Not sure where they get the "average" price of electricity, but like most studies they seem to have cheaper electrical prices than anyone I know.

You can plug your info here and get an estimate, it's a 130mpg car basically:
https://teslanomics.co/tesla-model-3-fuel-savings-calculator/

We get $1000-$1500 a year in the bank down here, but it varies by location and point of reference.

 

[DKS]

They quite literally drove one of the lowest ends EV out there. Tesla’s are ready, I see them all over Alberta.

I don't see a lot of them but I also don't live in the GTA. It's the doctors and lawyers who drive them.

 

[LeftSide]

I calculated about $0.06/mile. About the same as a hybrid. Except a hybrid doesn’t get mileage halved (ok, maybe 30-40% reduction) in winter...

Hybrid mileage goes down at least 15% in the winter. The motor has to run longer to keep the oil at a stable temperature, and to keep the heat going in the cabin.

 

[IcePickFreak]

Just wait til a significant portion of the population moves to electric vehicles and utilities didn't do anything to prepare. They'll wait til it's a problem and scream the sky is falling til they get money from .gov, then jack the prices up anyway so you'll be paying increased electricity for everything. Then taxes will go up to cover the back end as well.

Maybe I'm just cynical.

 

[Dayaks]

Hybrid mileage goes down at least 15% in the winter. The motor has to run longer to keep the oil at a stable temperature, and to keep the heat going in the cabin.

I guess I was using my use case. Wife used to have a Prius. Would go from 48MPG to 44MPG (10%) with 30 miles commutes. Highway the engine stays on practically all the time anyways.

But still, fuel is such an insignificant cost in most places. 10-15% of ownership? So 10% hit is a 1% increase in cost of ownership...

 

[cbutters]

You can increase the windshield wiper rate without taking your eyes off the road?

In addition to Auto Wipers, there is still a physical button to engage wipers (I don't know why everyone continues to report that it doesn't.) It is also context aware, so the second you hit the wiper button, the OSD section shows you wiper speed options. And yes, you can use muscle memory to engage the wiper stalk then adjust the rate on the screen because it is always in the same place. It is very much like context aware controls made popular by Nintendo 64's Ocarina of Time. A concept which is standard fare now in video games.

 

[Lizard Testes]

Yeah, people are super bad at operating touch screens without looking at them but I guess if the Tesla lovers here are willing to pretend otherwise it's not worth arguing over.

 

[nutzo]

You can plug your info here and get an estimate, it's a 130mpg car basically:
https://teslanomics.co/tesla-model-3-fuel-savings-calculator/

We get $1000-$1500 a year in the bank down here, but it varies by location and point of reference.

Their numbers are completely wrong for me, say I'll save 65%.
Yet when I use actual number based on what I pay today for Gas and electricity, I would actually LOSE about 15% by switching to electric.

Their either using much higher gas prices, much lower electric prices, or both.
(FYI: They treat California as all the same price, even though the price for electricity and gas can vary significantly from city to city.

 

[refraxion]

Well, by that standard I hate ICE's too. So we're kind of running out of automobiles. For someone with no dog in a fight, you seem to be awfully upset about the problems they have.

Ehh let's just agree to disagree haha. I'd rather cosmetic problems than game breaking problems is all I'm saying -- I don't even own a Tesla, I drive gasoline vehicles, lol.

Forget to mention that "will they sell it this time?" line. Sounds just like CNBC brushing off such a milestone. And I'm from Canada! That 35k USD car is not "cheap" here but I can see that being quite the deal over in the states (at least in california? LOL).

 

[[Spectre]]

Ehh let's just agree to disagree haha. I'd rather cosmetic problems than game breaking problems is all I'm saying -- I don't even own a Tesla, I drive gasoline vehicles, lol.

Forget to mention that "will they sell it this time?" line. Sounds just like CNBC brushing off such a milestone. And I'm from Canada! That 35k USD car is not "cheap" here but I can see that being quite the deal over in the states (at least in california? LOL).

Or it could be Tesla already said they were going to sell them at $35k and then...poof.....

So, will they actually sell it this time?

 

[refraxion]

Or it could be Tesla already said they were going to sell them at $35k and then...poof.....

So, will they actually sell it this time?

Well, was the $35,000 car ever available back then to order right from their website or was it just a down payment to reserve a model 3?

Sorry haven’t followed them that closely when the model 3 was first announced.

 

[NKD]

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4160351-tesla-model-3-costs-charge-gasoline-car

Guess it depends what you use. This article says a Tesla supercharger costs more per mile than a gas car.

I sit next to a guy who owns a tesla and he has 30% range reduction. There’s also a ton of owner accounts on forums...
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/33-range-loss-in-cold-winter-conditions.106072/

Overall electric cars don’t make logical sense in any way. And gas is a pretty small cost of ownership.

Also your solar isn’t “free”. You’d have to add up your initial costs + maitenance and divide by total useful kwh....

Solar maintenance is over blown. Have had them for 5 years and still working at great capacity. Rain cleans it just fine for me every year lol.

 

[MikeTrike]

Solar maintenance is over blown. Have had them for 5 years and still working at great capacity. Rain cleans it just fine for me every year lol.

Mine's still doing things on good days.

For example, today was weak AF...

My average bill for 2018 was $64.25 and that's with charging the EV almost daily... My fuel/electricity offset between solar and EV is about $1,900/yr~

I suspect that numbers will improve as tech matures on all fronts for future adopters.

 

[refraxion]

Solar costs way too much here in Canada to make it truly viable, plus with only certain times of the year where we (where I live) can take advantage of the sun for solar, it makes it really hard to justify until its dirt cheap to buy.

 

[NKD]

Solar costs way too much here in Canada to make it truly viable, plus with only certain times of the year where we (where I live) can take advantage of the sun for solar, it makes it really hard to justify until its dirt cheap to buy.

It’s not for everyone. If you are in markets such and pge and you have 2000 sqft+ house it’s worth it. My PGE is less than 400 a year now and my solar averages around $1300 ish. I save about 600-800 a year. But I do pay more to my panels at times to pay off faster. Also the problem is people are not educated even in pge market. I think it has more to do with comprehending math than anything.
But in my area there is more than enough solar. I have 6kw panels from Tesla warrantied for 30 years. They were around 29k but I got 9k tax brake and owe 15k on them now. However when I sell my house I will likely give them away since I am moving out of area and Tesla doesn’t serve new area. But I bet you dumb buyers will see just 15k and won’t see other 15 is already paid off and they will have $400 electric bill or probably way less since I blow through electricity. Working from home in summer and blasting AC. There was a month I didn’t use AC when we were away my mom was home but she doesn’t use AC much. I almost had 150 dollar credit on my PGE bill. But with AC I usually break even in the summer.

 

[NKD]

Mine's still doing things on good days.

View attachment 145344

For example, today was weak AF...

View attachment 145345

My average bill for 2018 was $64.25 and that's with charging the EV almost daily... My fuel/electricity offset between solar and EV is about $1,900/yr~

I suspect that numbers will improve as tech matures on all fronts for future adopters.

Where do you live? In California for me I mostly generate and offset like April through October/November. Then December-March is rain and cloudy a lot. I am lazy I think I do need to clean my panels in summer lol. I instead pray for random rain. Lol

 

[MikeTrike]

Where do you live? In California for me I mostly generate and offset like April through October/November. Then December-March is rain and cloudy a lot. I am lazy I think I do need to clean my panels in summer lol. I instead pray for random rain. Lol

It's one of these.

 

[Tsumi]

The auto setting has covered all my needs. The button to turn them on lamuallynis quite large so wouldn't be a problem to tap on. It's on the lower left of the screen - under the current speed - so can spot it with a quick glance at speed (which isn't really a glace having it in your perifrial vision)

I have yet to encounter a car with satisfactory automatic windshield wipers. Half the time I actually leave the windshield wipers off when at speed, Rain-X makes the water roll right off.

Not sure where they get the "average" price of electricity, but like most studies they seem to have cheaper electrical prices than anyone I know.
I can only assume they are using "best" pricing where you sign up for a plan that gives you cheap overnight electricity for charging, but that doesn't work if you have people at home during the day, since the daytime pricing is then much higher.

I used their assumptions, using my costs for electricity ($.28/kwh) and $3.03 for gas (Costco)
My Camry hybrid has averaged 35 MPG over the past 5 years with over 90% city driving (most during heavy rush hour traffic)

For 100 miles that comes out to $9.24 for electricity (their mileage numbers), and $8.66 for gas (using my actual mileage).

If I where to buy the current model year hybrid that has better mileage, I'd be around $7.21 for gas
​

I don't see any savings with an electric car.

Yes. I could install a 2nd meter just for the car to get cheaper electricity,
but that would take so many years to pay for itself, I'd be retired and looking to move by then.

Only advantage I see for electric, is that I wouldn't need to get it's oil changed or get it smog checked.

From what I've seen, if you use tiered pricing (only charging at night), driving an electric car is about half the cost of driving a hybrid of the same size.

 

[refraxion]

It’s not for everyone. If you are in markets such and pge and you have 2000 sqft+ house it’s worth it. My PGE is less than 400 a year now and my solar averages around $1300 ish. I save about 600-800 a year. But I do pay more to my panels at times to pay off faster. Also the problem is people are not educated even in pge market. I think it has more to do with comprehending math than anything.
But in my area there is more than enough solar. I have 6kw panels from Tesla warrantied for 30 years. They were around 29k but I got 9k tax brake and owe 15k on them now. However when I sell my house I will likely give them away since I am moving out of area and Tesla doesn’t serve new area. But I bet you dumb buyers will see just 15k and won’t see other 15 is already paid off and they will have $400 electric bill or probably way less since I blow through electricity. Working from home in summer and blasting AC. There was a month I didn’t use AC when we were away my mom was home but she doesn’t use AC much. I almost had 150 dollar credit on my PGE bill. But with AC I usually break even in the summer.

I'm actually quite jealous that you can take advantage of it! I have a 2000+sq. ft house here in Canada but it wouldn't be viable right now because I don't think it'll generate enough solar power for me to justify the costs. I think it would be about a 30 year period before I would break even.

 

[EricVB]

I'm waiting for something larger, something Model S sized to ht this price.

The Model 3 is too small, too ugly, and the interior is god awful.

I won't buy any vehicle without a traditional instrument cluster and tactile physical buttons in the dash.

I think Tesla is thinking future though not past. Do not need a tactile button if the car self drives 100%.

 

[tangoseal]

I've driven a tesla and actually love autopilot. Frees me to text and drive lmao.

But seriously I love autopilot. Not a fan if regen braking on highest settings, too rough.

I am probably going to get a model 3 performance awd this or next year not sure. Waiting to see how Tesla plans to handle current defects in craftsmanship.

I've owned sports cars, a 640whp 2004 wrx STI, and others. Big power is nice but in all honesty short of paying track fees and a weekend spent at the racetrack big power gets you lowered reliability and longevity. More maintenance and more expense. I'm approaching 38 and have no desire for a 900whp v8 blown Corvette or any of that nonsense. Tesla electric torque is amazing for getting up over and around douches on the highway. That's all I desire.