At 8:30 Thursday, the 31st of March, 2016, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors unveiled the new $35,000 electric sedan named the Model 3. Although this unveiling was only supposed to show glimpses of the car and minimal details, 3 cars were shown in their entirety. I suggest the 3 cars shown, all three sporting a different color are all different trims. The red Model 3 seems to be the base model, having taller sidewalls than the other variants, the silver car is probably the middle trim, and the black Model 3 seems to be the high performance model, with sporty paint and some unusual wheels. Although Musk did not elude to the optional drive-trains, he did state that even the slowest model will hit 60 mph in under 6 seconds, and that the minimum range of the cars is 215 miles, compared to the 200 rumored.
The interiors of all the Model 3s are Tesla-like in their technology, but very un-Tesla in their layout. Instead of a traditional Tesla 17-inch touchscreen in the center console, there is a floating tablet from the dash. Musk also stated that because of the small size, the dashboard and front seats were moved up slightly for more legroom in the back. Speaking of the rear seats, the three seats are underneath a panoramic sunroof, making the rear of the car feel more spacious to the passengers. Although Tesla has shown great success with it’s 3 point leather wrapped steering wheel, the designers have felt the need to change the look and install a 2 spoke steering wheel, very similar to what you would find on a Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
All four of the Model 3’s doors seem to be conventional (unlike the Model X) and the front shows similarity to many Porsches and the Model X, losing the black oval “grille”. Autopilot technology is standard on the new car, as well as a front and a rear trunk, as we have seen on the Tesla Model S and Model X.
The before-incentives price was also confirmed, with the base model starting at $35,000, even though Musk personally said that the base model Model 3 is the best $35,000 car you can buy.
All the images in this article are screenshots from the live stream on teslamotors.com .
All three Model 3s driving on stage
A closer look at the silver car.
A closer look at the black, high performance model.
A close-up of the front of the silver car.
The left side of the red car.
The entire left side of the silver car.
A close-up of the interior with the tablet and the 2-spoke steering wheel.
A photo of the passenger compartment from the passenger’s side.
The rear of the silver car.
A photo of the black, high performance model.
CEO Elon Musk
3/4 view of the silver model.