
Tesla Model III to challenge BMW 3 Series - mshafrir
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tesla/87867/tesla-model-iii-to-challenge-bmw-3-series-world-exclusive
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suprgeek
A $35,000 price (before presumed tax rebates) would really make this car a
very much more main-stream vehicle rather than a "Luxury Car".

If they can pull off the whole charger network expansion thing, this will be
Tesla's bread and butter car for a while.

~~~
ruswick
This model will certainly allow Tesla to access a new and much larger group of
potential customers, but I doubt it will be a "main-stream" vehicle. $35,000
is decidedly in the realm of high-end luxury cars (this car is still going to
be far more expensive than the entry-level models from Mercedes, Audi and
other prestige brands) and is still inaccessible to the vast majority of
buyers, albeit not necessarily as exclusive Tesla's previous supercars.

Now, Tesla is no longer an "I need to be a millionaire" brand and instead an
"I need to be a lawyer or engineer" brand.

Although this is a really exciting vehicle, I still think Tesla ultimately
wants to target the proletariate with cars in the $18,000 to $22,00 range
(possibly with a different brand to preserve the elite reputation of the Tesla
name). That segment is far more lucrative than the limited luxury market for
high-end cars. As soon as Tesla ships a car that can be afforded on an average
income, things will really get interesting...

~~~
pkulak
People shop on monthly payments. Say that gas is $5/gallon in three years (and
I'm pretty sure that's conservative). For 1500 miles a month at 30 mpg, that's
$250 a month in gas. Subtract that plus maintenance from your payment and
you're getting into econobox territory. I think $35,000 will be a pretty big
deal.

~~~
wise_young_man
If you are going to consider the gas savings, you still need to remember that
there are also electricity costs as well.

~~~
pkulak
Yes, totally. Take off about $25 for the electricity. The numbers don't change
too much.

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mmanfrin
I thought for a minute that the site was an Onion-esque parody site
considering the first couple paragraphs deal with how they tried to name their
models after the word 'sex'.

~~~
grinich
Nope, that's just Elon for you.

Another example: the code name for SpaceX's future Mars launch vehicle is
`BFR`.

aka, Big F*cking Rocket

~~~
tacticus
And the test stand

BFTS the big fucking test stand.

~~~
agumonkey
And they said naming is hard.

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beltex
_FYI, the Model 3 images used by @AutoExpress were mock-ups based on their own
speculation._

[https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/489200528908226561](https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/489200528908226561)

~~~
gilgoomesh
I can't imagine that the real Model III would anything like this. I doubt that
Tesla would make another car that looked so much like the Model S. I expect it
to look far more distinctive.

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padobson
Another step in the master plan:

 _Almost any new technology initially has high unit cost before it can be
optimized and this is no less true for electric cars. The strategy of Tesla is
to enter at the high end of the market, where customers are prepared to pay a
premium, and then drive down market as fast as possible to higher unit volume
and lower prices with each successive model.

Without giving away too much, I can say that the second model will be a sporty
four door family car at roughly half the $89k price point of the Tesla
Roadster and the third model will be even more affordable. In keeping with a
fast growing technology company, all free cash flow is plowed back into R&D to
drive down the costs and bring the follow on products to market as fast as
possible. When someone buys the Tesla Roadster sports car, they are actually
helping pay for development of the low cost family car._

[http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-
master-p...](http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/secret-tesla-motors-master-plan-
just-between-you-and-me)

------
revelation
Tesla Motors twitter links to this, but what's going on with revealing the
name and Roadster plans in some British car magazine?

~~~
jasoncartwright
The Model S was launched in the UK last month - given the number of marketing
emails I'm now getting from them, they appear to be doing a big sales push
here.

~~~
kalleboo
Then wouldn't this be them Osbourning themselves?

~~~
jasoncartwright
No. This car isn't targeted at the luxury market, and is 3yrs away.

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GreenPlastic
I had a chance to drive a Model S down Mt. Evans in CO at an owner event. We
need to buy a new car in August but have a hard time justifying the price of
the Model S. We're looking at some fairly nice traditional vehicles (335xi,
IS350, X3, Q5, etc) and it literally feels like we're buying obsolete
technology. While other cars are advertising 9 speed transmissions I'm
thinking why should I feel a car shifting? Why should the torque curve be non-
instant and non-linear? Why should we ever go to gas stations?

In fact, I'm pretty tempted to just drive our oldest car into the ground and
wait until the 3rd gen comes out as I can't imagine wanting anything else.

~~~
ryanhuff
I was right there with you. Earlier this year, my high miles Camry started to
have problems, and so I had to do something. I went with a new car that would
be a good hand-me-down for my kids when they reach driving age, expecting some
nice Telsa-like vehicles to be ready in a few years. This news fits nicely
with that plan.

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mbillie1
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 4-wheel-drive Tesla model for those of us
who live where it snows copiously... but that price tag might be a game-
changer regardless. That's going to open up a whole new demographic for them.

~~~
Scorponok
If it snows a lot, wouldn't you also have battery life problems because of the
cold?

~~~
fleitz
Gasoline cars have batteries that die in the cold too.

Which is one of the reasons you have to plug in a gas car in cold weather as
well, the other being the oil freezing in the crankcase, a problem a Tesla
doesn't have.

~~~
totalforge
iirc the Tesla battery pack has liquid heating and cooling.

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coreymgilmore
I surely hope Tesla will get this car to market on time. The timeline of
2016-2017 seems very aggressive given the Gigafactory has not even found a
location let allow begun producing batteries. Elon has noted that a big issue
with the "cheaper" Tesla was getting battery cost down aka building the
factory to produce them at huge scale. Combine this with producing a more
easily purchased vehicle due to lower price and I could see a battery shortage
issue.

My second hope: that the Model III won't have a 3 month lead time like the
Model S currently does.

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lotharbot
If it's going to be called "3", then 3 horizontal bars mimics the numeral as
well as resembling the letter E enough to still allow the SEX
joke/marketing/whatever.

~~~
girvo
That's what Musk said himself. I think it's pretty funny, if a little juvenile
;)

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chaz
If the Tesla Model E was going to be sued by Ford for their E-Series vans,
won't the the Tesla Model 3 get sued by BMW for their 3-Series cars?

~~~
kenrikm
No, it's Model "III" not Model "3" #wink.

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KamiCrit
I really hope they make a compact pickup for the industrial sector, Ford
pulled out of that market with the Ranger.

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tylerpachal
Jaguar also just announced a car for this category:
[http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/jaguar-xe-small-
saloon-20...](http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/jaguar-xe-small-
saloon-2014-07-15)

~~~
njharman
I just can't get it up for any new car that isn't electric. ICE is just so
broken. It's like CDs in age of digital downloads or new a PHP framework in
age of sanity.

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houseofshards
If you notice, III is 'E' rotated counterclockwise by 90 degrees - subtle but
genius response to Ford's "hey Tesla, you cannot use Model E. If you do, we
will sue you!"

~~~
bch
Are you sure it's not rotated clockwise?

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zarriak
I don't know how many people own a 3 series here but as a person that owns one
I feel that this title should be more about the fact that this competes with a
Prius more than a 3 series. If it has $35k price point it makes it cost ~10k
more than a stock Prius or the same price as a Prius with most of the options.
It would cost about the same as if the $7,500 is extended, which I think will
be extended. Helping Tesla allows speaks to both parties ideals. It helps the
environment, is an example of the american dream and can be framed as a reason
for cutting taxes.

~~~
jonah
They're comparing it to the 3 series because that's the market they're going
after. They don't want it to be perceived as the latest eco-mobile but rather
competitive with the "ultimate driving machine." It should have the
performance, handling and quality of a premium sports sedan, not a econo box.

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infogulch
Missed opportunity to have another Model T, since that comes directly after S.

~~~
cjg_
If Ford is suing them for Model E, they would undoubtedly sue them for Model
T.

~~~
tdicola
The Model T is over 100 years old now, surely Ford can't have a monopoly on a
name that long right?

~~~
objclxt
Trademarks don't expire as long as you keep using them - and you don't have to
use them in necessarily very conspicuous ways (that's the reason all iMac
boxes have "Think Different" in small lettering on the side[1]). I wouldn't be
surprised if Ford still maintained the Model T trademark.

[1]:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different#Product_packagi...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different#Product_packaging)

~~~
ianstallings
And Ford actually sued another company in 2000 for trying to use the name
"Model E":

[http://www.autonews.com/article/20130822/OEM04/130829966/tes...](http://www.autonews.com/article/20130822/OEM04/130829966/tesla-
seeks-model-e-trademark#axzz2oeLNxWDG)

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aaronharnly
It's entirely possible the naming decisions are being made by Musk himself. If
they are not, I find this article an irritating exemplar of the CEO-centric
view of the world that many articles -- and many CEOs -- seem to take. If they
_are_ , well, that goes double.

~~~
sjwright
Musk isn't _just_ a CEO. He's their Steve Jobs -- co-founder and visionary.
He's chief product architect. And he's also the money. I think he deserves the
right to have a CEO-centric view of his company.

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skaevola
What's the purpose in announcing this three years in advance?

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kitwalker12
shut up and take my money

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icantthinkofone
Got to drive a Tesla last weekend. If this car is anything like the one I
drove, even remotely close, Tesla wins. And I'm not even talking about the
electronics panel.

