The Tesla Model 3 (Under One Hour)

Background/History

One of Under One Hour’s upcoming books will be called Buying, Driving and the Future of Cars Under One Hour. So naturally, the announcement of the Tesla Model 3 has sparked my interest. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding Tesla since the unveiling of the Model S sedan in 2012. The high end car has sold well and received top reviews and industry awards. Before that, Tesla built an all-electric sport car called the Tesla Roadster which was basically an 'expensive toy.' The purpose was to show that electric vehicles could be a great alternative. You might compare the Roadster to Fisker’s all-electric sports car. 

The Model 3 is Tesla’s version of a more modest car and the next phase of the company. The revenue from the Model S & X is what was required to pay for the development of the model 3. This is the typical path of bringing a new product to the mainstream market.

The Oatmeal, a funny comic website, published a great review of the Model S.

I encourage everyone to read it here: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla_model_s

One aspect the UOH book will talk about is the alternative energy sources for vehicles. These include hydrogen, electricity, magnetism, and natural gas. The cleanest alternative energy seems to be hydrogen, with the biggest hurdle being the replacement of current infrastructure. It will take some time to get hydrogen development and fuel cells in circulation. There could be an easier solution, but we are years away from that.

This brings us back to Tesla and what they are trying to accomplish. Essentially, they are single-handedly trying to take the excuse out of owning a petroleum-fueled vehicle. Why own a gasoline vehicle if the more luxurious, faster, less expensive option is electric? With the expansion of clean electricity, and Tesla building out their supercharging infrastructure, electric cars certainly seem to be the near term future.

The big issue electric vehicles have is their range. The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf have only about a 50-100 mile range with some versions having a gas tank to extend the range. Tesla has always promised over 200 miles per charge, no gas tank, and a quick charge of only 40 minutes. The range I would like to see, and one that would destroy any electric car disadvantages, would be a 1000 mile range on a single charge. This is something we’ll see in the future with better battery technology, or potentially solar paint integration, but it is not here yet. The furthest range Tesla currently offers is 288.

However, Tesla has built a ‘Gigafactory’ designed specifically for lithium-ion battery production. This factory is claimed to double the entire world’s current level of production. Naturally, they are researching and improving the battery capacity along with it. High volume with the world’s best battery technology allows the model 3 to be produced with the furthest range at the lowest cost. Their Fremont factory plans on producing 500 thousand Model 3 cars per year; Talk about an industry disruption!

Model 3 Reservation

As mentioned above, I am researching and writing a book about cars, so naturally I've been following the latest trends and seeing what new cars are coming out. Having test driven and know owners of the Model S, needing a replacement for my wife’s car in a couple years, wanting to decrease our carbon footprint, and not wanting to spend too much money, my wife and I decided to reserve the Model 3. Production and delivery of the car is scheduled for the fall of 2017.

On March 31^st, I went to our local Tesla store (there are 215 stores now and 441 locations by the end of next year) in order to reserve it. I expected there to be a lot of people interested, but I definitely did not expect a long line. The email I received earlier in the week mentioned that you could reserve the Model 3 in store on March 31^st, or online April 1^st. Knowing that we will need a replacement car sooner rather than later, I wanted to reserve it as early as possible. I figured if I showed up a little before the store opens, I should have a pretty good spot.

I did some searching on Google and Facebook the morning of and saw that there were already lines forming at 8 in the morning! Crap! I needed to get there way earlier and ended up getting there at 9:30 to find a decently long line. Perhaps there were a hundred or so people when I got there. By 10am, when the store opened, the line doubled! Is this black Friday or reserving a car we won’t drive for 2 years?

The line moved quickly and the store was well prepared for the volume. Essentially, around 10:30 am, I was able to enter my basic credit card information into a computer terminal with a salesperson. The process took about 45 seconds! Similar to waiting in line at amusement parks, it’s quite laughable that so many people were waiting such a long time for less than the minute it takes to actually reserve the car; ESPECIALLY since no information on the car has been released!!! Those details would be released via live video stream at Tesla’s headquarters the night of March 31^st with Elon Musk presenting the details. But your spot in the queue matters for delivery!

                You can find the video on their website and details of the Model 3 here:

https://www.teslamotors.com/model3

Model 3 Details

Finally, for the specs of the Tesla Model 3 (Based model, options will improve):

• Price: $35,000. According to USA Today, “The estimated average transaction price of a new car or truck sold in the U.S. in April [2015] was $33,560 — 2.6% higher than in the month a year ago, according to data from auto researcher Kelley Blue Book.” So with the Model 3 coming in at $35K, it seems like a very practical alternative now.http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/05/04/new-car-transaction-price-3-kbb-kelley-blue-book/26690191/
• Tax Incentive: $7,500. One of the attractive price breaks has been the federal and state tax incentives. Most of the state incentives have met their quota and are no longer offered. Currently, the federal tax incentive is $7,500 and it has not yet met the quota. While this would greatly reduce the price of the Model 3, it seems as if the tax incentive will have ended by the time Tesla actually builds and prices the Model 3. With climate change becoming more pronounced every year, the incentive could be extended however, but it is wise to not factor that into the budget. Either way, the price is still very reasonable.
• Safety: Tesla claims it will have a five star safety rating, making it the safest car in its class. This is one of the best things to know as there won’t be any explosions from a gas engine, they have eliminated any potential battery fires, and since there is no engine in the front of the car, the car has extra crumple room. This is a great justification to family members as well by buying the safest vehicle for your children!
• Speed: 0-60 in less than 6 seconds for the base model. Elon Musk said “At Tesla, we don’t make slow cars!” Another attractive feature of being all-electric, there is more energy efficiency than gasoline vehicles. An electric motor is over 90% efficient while gasoline engines manage only 20% efficiency (most energy goes to heat)! This means that the Tesla vehicles bolt off the line and are incredibly responsive. Of the fastest cars in the world, the $130K Model S ranks 6^th in the world with a 0-60 of 2.6 seconds! The next fastest car is the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, World Record Edition coming in at 2.5 seconds…The price… $2.3 million. Talk about value! I would never reasonably consider a car over $100K, but the value of the Model S being able to compete against a $2.3 million dollar car is incredible!
• Range: Starting minimum range of 215 miles at full charge. They project to have more miles at full charge by production time with the advances they are making at the Gigafactory. While I am not too impressed with the range (as described above), this will still last me about 2 weeks of driving before charging. The options for the vehicle will include longer ranges and I would love to see 300+ for this vehicle.
• Size: Seats 5 comfortably. Being comfortable is key and to do this they moved up the front seats to make more leg room (you can do this when there is no bulky engine in the ‘front trunk’) so that 5 people would still have room. Apparently you can fit a 7-foot surfboard inside the car! Since there is a front and back trunk, it will have more cargo room than any other car in its class.
• Panoramic Roof: To make the back seat feel more roomy, they are including the unique all glass ceiling in the car. This is another feature I wanted to pay for and on the Model S, it cost $1500! Thank you, Tesla, for including that in the base price!
• Autopilot: Autopilot will be INCLUDED in all Model 3’s! This is the most exciting feature for me because this seems to be the way of the future. I've been wanting fully autonomous vehicles since 2008 when they were first being tested. On the Model S, this feature is $2500, so to have that included on the Model 3 is a fantastic deal!
• Supercharging: Supercharging is INCLUDED. This means that you can charge the Model 3 at any Tesla supercharger FOR FREE. To put this in perspective, imagine never having to pay for gas again! Feel free to look up the testimonials online about the people that have crossed the US and never paid for gas or electricity! Additionally, by the end of 2017, they plan on doubling the number of locations around the world, and tripling the number of superchargers. As of 3/31, there are 3,608 superchargers and 3,689 destination chargers and by the end of 2017 they plan on having 7,200 superchargers and 15,000 destination chargers! Free mobility at its finest.
• The Look: In my opinion, it looks like a Porsche Panamera (The only Porsche I actually like). My initial reaction when it rolled onto the floor wasn't that great, but when they zoomed in, so you can see the detail of the car and how it actually looks, I became very impressed. 

Here is the Tesla Model 3:

 

Here is the Porsche Panamera:

Summary/Conclusion

In summary, I believe this car is the future and am willing to back it up with my reservation. Regardless of the environmental benefits, this is a car I would want over just about every other car (including the Model S!). The unique thing about Tesla vehicles is that they do not change the production lines each year. They attempt to produce such a great vehicle from the onset that all they have to do is continually update the vehicle through software updates. This allows the life of the vehicle to be extended (and stay new) much longer than gasoline vehicles! Assuming you’re concerned about the battery, they are rumored to have the ability to replace the battery at some superchargers instead of waiting with your car plugged in. This would allow Tesla to give you a new battery indefinitely.

What do you think? Have you reserved one or are you going to? Let me know in the comments below! Make sure to subscribe to stay up-to-date on our latest books and growth!

-Andrew Brown, 4-1-16