
Model 3 Unveiling [video] - bronz
https://model3.tesla.com/
======
Animats
OK, $35K, 115,000 pre-orders, delivery early 2018. (Yeah, he said "next year",
and then the projection said "late next year", and then he waffled, so 2018 is
realistic.)

Tesla's current production rate is about 70,000 units a year. Yes, the NUMMI
plant once produced 500K vehicles a year on that site, but that just means
Tesla has lots of empty building shell into which they can expand.

The real problem is profitability. Bloomberg is skeptical.[1] Tesla isn't
profitable, and they have a high price point now. Cutting the price means they
have to produce at a far lower cost while expanding factory capacity. That
will be very tough. Jason Wheeler, Tesla's CFO, is going to have to come up
with some creative financial strategies. But with near-zero interest rates,
and lots of pre-orders, they can probably borrow heavily for plant at very low
cost.

[1] [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-31/tesla-
double...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-31/tesla-doubles-down-
with-the-model-3)

~~~
abtinf
>Tesla isn't profitable

On a per-unit sold basis, Tesla Model S is wildly profitable, with a gross
margin north of 30% [1]. However, they are obviously still in startup mode, so
they reinvest all of those earnings along with investor capital into improving
the business.

>Cutting the price means they have to produce at a far lower cost while
expanding factory capacity.

Corporate finance is a little more nuanced than that. The price of expanding
factory capacity is not an interesting number by itself; what matters is
whether that investment will yield a profit over its useful life. Or, in more
technical jargon, over the useful life of this investment, will marginal
revenue per unit made possible by this investment exceed average total cost of
producing units with this investment. Moreover, a dramatic expansion of
capacity, executed competently, will reduce production costs across all
product lines due to economies of scale, economies of scope, and improved
negotiating power.

>But with near-zero interest rates, and lots of pre-orders, they can probably
borrow heavily for plant at very low cost.

Tesla's credit rating is in junk bond territory [2] and their weighted average
cost of capital is almost 9% (which includes interest free loans from pre-
order reservation payments). So there isn't a lot of financial magic here -
they need to produce units profitably to be successful.

[1] [http://seekingalpha.com/article/855661-tesla-profit-
point](http://seekingalpha.com/article/855661-tesla-profit-point) [2]
[http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-rated-junk-by-
sp-2014-5](http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-rated-junk-by-sp-2014-5)

~~~
refurb
_On a per-unit sold basis, Tesla Model S is wildly profitable, with a gross
margin north of 30%_

OK, I searched for "30%" in your link and nothing came up. So I scanned and
saw nothing that claimed a gross margin of 30%. Where's it hiding?

I assume by gross margin you mean, "revenue - COGS". This of course ignores
all the fixed costs, so it doesn't mean much. Even if they weren't investing
in future growth, their fix costs could easily drag that 30% (still don't know
where that came from) down into negative territory.

~~~
DarkTree
While I agree fixed costs shouldn't be ignored, isn't it true that they are
called fixed costs for a reason? As in, as Tesla scales up production and is
selling way more cars, their fixed cost per unit sold will go down with
economies of scale. I think gross margin is much more meaningful here, but
definitely correct me if I'm wrong.

~~~
forgetsusername
> _While I agree fixed costs shouldn 't be ignored, isn't it true that they
> are called fixed costs for a reason_

Building cars is a capital and R&D intensive business. I'm not sure where the
idea that those costs will basically go away comes form.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
They don't "go away", they get divided amongst a greater number of cars as
production ramps up.

It's not even just Tesla cars, as other electric cars come to market, the
prices for components they need in common (battery being the big one) will
fall with scale too.

The battery is about half the cost of an electric car and battery prices have
been dropping steadily, between 2007 and 2014 it halved (if you look a the
whole market) or reduced by 2/3rds (if you look at leading manufacturers like
Tesla) and are projected to continue to decline by 8-10% per year.

------
manav
EDIT: Found a live stream on youtube:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FLSxJjdnLU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FLSxJjdnLU)

Also, I made a reservation at the Fremont factory today. Took around 15 mins
including line, but I went in around 10:30-11am. I'd estimate there were
around 600 people before me in the morning. Fairly certain they will hit 100k
before the stream starts.

~~~
timdorr
He announced 115,000 reservations before the stream began. That's $115m spent
on a product no one had seen. Crazy.

~~~
manav
The car looks comparable to a Honda CRZ or a Toyota Prius (or a Subaru BRZ).
They should have gone with the small-sedan form factor, but I think they
believe it will cannibalize Model S sales.

~~~
usaphp
> "for a luxury car"

Since when is a car under 35K is considered luxury?

~~~
jd20
It's all relative. I think many would consider a $35k BMW a "luxury" in
comparison to a $15k Honda.

~~~
usaphp
Ok, if they consider $35K BMW a luxury car, then how would they call a $90K
Porshe? Or $300K Rolls-Royce?

~~~
manicdee
They are luxury cars too. Luxury cars are those over the average income,
basically.

------
aresant
I love Tesla the company and respect the hell out of Elon.

But his presentation style is hard to watch - he is literally stammering
through what feels like a dry script.

I've never seen him live before is this par for the course or nerves?

Edit - wow that is a better looking car than I expected. You can be as awkward
serving as you like if that's the main course!

~~~
valine
I rather like his presentation style. For some reason it strikes me as
genuine, like he's someone I can relate with and look up to. He doesn't need
to be a flashy salesman because his projects will sell themselves.

~~~
Animats
_" For some reason it strikes me as genuine, like he's someone I can relate
with and look up to."_

That's typical of salespeople at the higher levels. The smooth-talking types
are down at the midmarket dealerships.

For the other extreme, see Shai Agassi, who ran an electric car company,
Better Place. This is his 2009 TED talk.[1] I heard him speak once. He's
really good looking, he sounds very convincing, and his business plan was
total bullshit. ("E-miles follow Moore's Law.") But he convinced people to
invest $900 million, met with many national leaders, and got massive press
coverage. Better Place delivered a only a few hundred cars, built by Renault,
before it went bust.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcoJt2KLC9k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcoJt2KLC9k)

~~~
MrBuddyCasino
Incredible. To me, everything about that guy screams snake oil salesman.

~~~
Denzel
Does he appear a snake oil salesman in light of the facts you know now? Or
you're saying you would have thought the same thing back in 2009? Do you have
any specifics on why you feel that way?

Genuinely curious, as a person who likes to analyze public speaking events.

~~~
Animats
When I heard him speak at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, I though
"I'm listening to a con man". He was talking about expanding his company 10x
every year for years to come. Few companies have done that successfully,
especially in a bricks-and-mortar business, which building battery-swap
stations is. And the whole battery leasing model sounded like a financial
gimmick. I used to go to VC events where people pitched, so I've heard lots of
pitches.

I also thought, he's betting against battery technology. If somebody comes up
with a battery that gives enough range and a fast charging system (which is
what happened; visit your Tesla dealer) his whole battery-swap scheme is
obsolete.

I also thought, if this is so great, and you're operating in countries from
Israel to Denmark, why aren't there more of your cars on the road yet?

~~~
Denzel
I agree, if someone was claiming they could grow a business 10x/year, that
sounds suspicious. However, I didn't hear him speak at the Commonwealth Club,
so I can only go off his TED talk. He says the EV _industry_ will grow 100x
between 2011 and 2016.

In that talk, he sounds more reasonable to me. There's a lot of overlap
between his ideas and Elon's and he's very upfront about what he is and is not
trying to do. He states that he's _not_ trying to change the battery industry
(like Elon with the Gigafactory); he's treating the industry as an input. His
whole e-Miles concept seems like a different take on making the TCO, of an
electric car, more appealing to the mass-market. I'm not saying I agree, I
haven't run the numbers, but it doesn't sound unreasonable. In fact, Elon
hedged himself by touting a battery swapping station.

My feeling is based off his TED talk alone, and I'm just not understanding
where the snake-oil salesman vibe is coming from. It's very pleasurable to
watch him present. Of course, if I had seen what you did at the Commonwealth,
then my impression would be different.

------
Mikeb85
Pretty smart looking car. Doesn't ape the Model S' look too much, clearly
looks a little more compact, and the roofline makes it look both roomy and a
little space-agey. From the front it almost has a Porsche Panamera look going
on... Nice looking car. I wish Tesla good luck, though I don't think they'll
need it.

~~~
TickleSteve
The panamera is quite possibly the most ugly and awkward looking luxury car
out there... (even Porsches CEO admits it! [http://jalopnik.com/even-porsches-
ceo-admits-the-panamera-is...](http://jalopnik.com/even-porsches-ceo-admits-
the-panamera-is-kind-of-fugly-1645633158))

This, on the other hand is genuinely good looking.

~~~
rconti
The panamera is a very awkward car, I agree. But I get where the parent is
coming from. I expected the 3 to look like a scaled down S, and a Tesla
employee friend said to expect something between an S and an X (yes, he had
seen it.. and no, comparison to the X is not a compliment).

I was pleasantly surprised to see the video footage of it, though I don't
think it translates well to the stills/screen grabs we've seen.

The headlights-above-the-beltline look reminds me of the Roadster and the
Panamera and maybe a touch like the Dodge Razor concept. it's very much not an
S, while somehow being attractive in many of the ways the S is (and ugly in
none of the ways that the X is). Overall I'm quite pleased with the looks.

------
usaphp
Wow, I don't really know how bmw or mercedes are going to compete with model
3. Tesla does not look worse than 3 series and C class, is faster and is
almost free to run. And the base bmw 3 series starts at $33,200 and it is
almost empty inside...It will be an interesting couple years for auto industry
for sure.

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
> almost free to run

Legit question: How much does a Tesla cost to recharge?

I mean assuming you do it in your home and not at a free charging station. Are
we talking $1/charge? $5? 50c? I just want a frame of reference. I'm talking
raw electricity only (and obviously based on some average rate).

~~~
mikeyouse
The average battery size for the Model S is probably 85kWh (they sell them
from 70 - 90), and average residential power rates in the US are ~$0.15/kWh.
So the easy answer is, a Model S will cost ~$12.75 to "fill up". However, some
places have residential rates closer to $0.08/kWh, or $7/tank. That's for
300mi range.

They do sell lower capacity battery versions and the entry level Model 3 will
likely have a 50kWh battery for a 215mi range, so that would cost $7.50 to
fill.

Most areas have night-time plans from the utilities to level demand where they
charge a lot less for power, the Supercharging stations are free to use for
Tesla owners, so the average cost will probably be quite a bit lower.

~~~
raisedbyninjas
Does the Tesla come with charge management settings to specify how much and
when it charges? Some residents have power plans with reduced or free
electricity during off peak. Mine is free on weekends for example and I
usually only drive 150 miles/week. I could theoretically charge for free and
always have a least a hundred miles range during the week. It would be nice if
I didn't have manually schedule this.

~~~
tlb
It has a daily schedule: I set mine to charge after 11pm when rates are low. I
haven't seen a weekly schedule.

------
suprgeek
Very clean looks also:

215 Miles Range

with 0-60 in 6secs,

Seats 5 will have autodrive tech

all for $35,000

Deliveries begin end of 2017 (Hopefully)

This is truly a mass market full electric car. We may be seeing something on
the lines of the iPhone - a category busting product.

~~~
rsync
"with 0-60 in 6secs"

This part confuses me.

The very fast 0-60 times that you see in electric cars are a function not of
their massive engines or super tuned turbos, but of their instantaneous torque
(as they are electric).

Given that this _is_ an electric car, and that its size and weight are
commensurable to the (presumably) smaller electric motor, I would expect it to
have similar 0-60 times.

I just assumed that whenever this car was released it would have <4 second
times ... why wouldn't it ?

~~~
j1vms
Which brings up the question of whether it's not already time existing cars
(starting at the performance end, and then trickling down to consumer market),
should not already be replacing:

(Int. Combustion Engine)---[variable rotational speed/torque]--->drivetrain

with:

ICE---[constant rot. speed & constant torque]-->dynamo--->battery-->fully
electric motor(s) drive train.

That would give most of the performance benefits/efficiency of electric
motors, with the range of ICE-based vehicles. Since operating at essentially
constant torque / speed, the ICE could then itself be made more compact and
simplified to reduce the vehicle's weight.

I'm sure the above is already being done or worked on, and maybe someone could
point to examples of it.

~~~
dangrossman
> maybe someone could point to examples of it

Chevrolet Volt, BMW i3 with Range Extender

~~~
briffle
As well as any train locomotive built in the last 40 years or so....

------
slg
Some of the press pics and video from inside the car is really interesting.
There is no instrument panel and the only screen is the center tablet. That
would seem to be somewhat inconvenient to view things like speed. I wonder if
that is hinting at a future with expanded autopilot were the driver can pay
less attention to the instruments.

[1] -
[https://twitter.com/autonews_west/status/715761107508584448](https://twitter.com/autonews_west/status/715761107508584448)

[2] -
[https://twitter.com/autonews_west/status/715767638916472833](https://twitter.com/autonews_west/status/715767638916472833)

~~~
avoutthere
If this is the final design, I think it's a terrible decision. I hope the
production model will include an actual instrument panel.

~~~
elihu
I can understand wanting to use a screen rather than physical instruments
(which are more complex, expensive, and have moving parts that break), but I
hope they place it in front of the driver, not off to the right in the final
version. Or at least have a smaller screen in front with things like speed and
battery level.

------
helicon
Yesterday Elon Musk tweeted this[1]:

"Tomorrow is Part 1 of the Model 3 unveil. Part 2, which takes things to
another level, will be closer to production. "

And back in January he tweeted this[2]:

"In ~2 years, summon should work anywhere connected by land & not blocked by
borders, eg you're in LA and the car is in NY"

Do you think he is saying the Model 3 will be fully autonomous?

[1]
[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715307847890903041](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715307847890903041)

[2]
[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/686279251293777920](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/686279251293777920)

~~~
scoot
It sounds like it, but that would be on hell of a battery range if that's
true.

~~~
spurgu
It will probably be able to drive itself to a charging station. :)

~~~
illumin8
They've written about this on their blog:

[https://www.teslamotors.com/node/14147?no_cache=1459519432](https://www.teslamotors.com/node/14147?no_cache=1459519432)

The eventual goal is to have the car be able to open your garage door, exit,
close your garage door, then drive to your location, stopping to charge itself
at supercharger stations along the way.

The NYC to LA tweet implies the car would need fully autonomous driving
capabilities to do so.

------
oh_sigh
Who are these people that go to these events and do the high pitch "woo"ing?
Seriously stop.

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
I think part of the issue was that the audio was poorly mixed. This type of
stuff happens at all kinds of events, but they typically isolate audio from
the speaker only via lapel mic.

You always mix in SOME crowd noise otherwise they don't seem to cheer. But it
is a pretty dynamic operation with an operator raising the gain and lowering
it as needed to get the desired effect.

In this case the crowd noise was as loud as the speaker and as a result they
seemed to shout over him.

------
valine
> If you buy a conventional car, your interaction with the people who made it
> has ended. With Tesla, that interaction has only just begun.

There's something unnerving about this. Your car has access to so much
information about you. Where you go, where you work, what stores you like to
shop at, and what restaurants you like. To me, a car is a tool. When I
purchase a car, I'm purchasing The engine, the wheels, and the right to use
the software running behind the scenes. I couldn't care less about forging a
one sided, Orwellian relationship with a large company. Even if that company
is freakishly awesome.

~~~
mehrdada
I believe most modern cars you buy today (even low-end ones) have a GSM modem
connected to a phone carrier which is probably active regardless of your
payment for the "connected" features, so not much better unless you figure out
a way to pull its power.

~~~
jd20
You could remove the SIM card I suppose. On some cars this is super easy (it
just pops right out of the dash), on the Model S unfortunately its a lot
harder to access (but still doable). And while most cars seem designed to do
just fine when you pop out the SIM, nothing prevents Tesla from making the car
inoperable without the SIM (I have no idea what the current behavior is, just
speculating).

~~~
mehrdada
I did not look hard, but didn't find an obvious location to remove the SIM
from my Mercedes. It is certainly undocumented in the owner's manual.

Note that [depending on the modem], simply removing the SIM might not be
enough to turn the radio off. It might still try connecting to the network and
naturally send your IMEI to the carrier. For instance, handsets are usually
configured so you can call emergency numbers without SIM cards. They need to
reach out to a network to do so. You might still be tracked. It's better to
make sure it is not powered.

I agree that Tesla probably takes the Orwellian issues to a whole new level,
but I'm not sure this sort of lockdown would be limited to EVs for long.

------
llomlup
Something isn't right there. The cockpit doesn't seem to be finished. Compared
to Model S and Model X cockpits, this one isn't on par. Where are screens
behind the wheel, what about the middle console, AC, wheel controls?
[http://cdn2.autoexpress.co.uk/sites/autoexpressuk/files/styl...](http://cdn2.autoexpress.co.uk/sites/autoexpressuk/files/styles/gallery_adv/public/2016/04/20160331_213033.jpg?itok=a-gRwFAW),
seriously?

~~~
Corrado
I agree, to a point. The interior does look a bit spartan, however is this
just a pre-release model? Will the final car look _exactly_ like this? I can
see certain things being tweaked over the next year and the dash is one of
them.

~~~
ohitsdom
Musk said as much: "You will see the car very clearly, but some important
elements will be added and some will evolve."

[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715309739752747009](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715309739752747009)

------
shekyboy
Felt the presentation ended half way. Wanted him to show the inside of the car
and all the features.

Caught the glimpse the new horizontal screen, but no details on that in the
presentation or on the side....

Wonder if they are not ready with all those yet. Or maybe I am used to Apple
keynotes

~~~
jd20
Felt more like they're just not ready yet (not a good sign IMO). When the
final version of the Model X got a stage reveal, Musk presented a great deal
more info (interior, new features like BioHazard mode, etc...)

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
The BioHazard Mode was a work of genius. Not in terms of the actual feature,
but in marketing terms, everyone was talking about it and it was a unique
thing that only Tesla had.

Essentially they re-branded "full" on the AC dial.

------
manav
I'm actually going to reduce my reservation to one car now. Pretty
disappointed at the design, it looks like a Prius.

For the price point, I would obviously still buy one... but the hatchback
style is not as appealing for a mid level luxury car that may compete with a
MB C-class or BMW 3-series.

They could have made it look like an Audi A4 sedan, with an available
hatchback, but I think that would cannibalize Model S sales to some extent.

Tesla also announced they are going to increase Model S prices starting this
month. This could be part of their strategy to increase Model S sales now,
before they release revisions in the future.

What's also interesting is that Tesla cleared all CPO inventory at the
beginning of the year. On their Pre-Owned site, they had used Model S going
for less than 50k. They cleared it all out early in the year and now only
offer recent models as inventory for lease/purchase.

~~~
greglindahl
You can't make a car with low drag without it being a hatchback. And low drag
is key to reasonable battery size.

~~~
aerovistae
I believe you, but can you provide a source or explanation for that insight?

~~~
dingaling
The optimum subsonic shape is a hemisperhical nose with a long tail tapering
to a point ( like an ice-cream cornette on its side, with the dome of ice-
cream heading into the wind ).

The K-tail is an abbreviation of that impractical-for-cars long tail which
gives most of the effect for much less effort.

The Tatra T77 was an attempt to implement the optimum form though even then
the tail was somewhat abbreviated:

[http://tatra77.com/](http://tatra77.com/)

~~~
aaimnr
Drop of water is the best comparison, as its shape is a direct result of
aerodynamic optimisation.

~~~
ino
The drop of water is not teardrop shaped.

[http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/articles/shape-of-a-
raindrop](http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/articles/shape-of-a-raindrop)

[http://water.usgs.gov/edu/raindropshape.html](http://water.usgs.gov/edu/raindropshape.html)

------
gameshot911
Okay, I'll say it. I don't like the hatchback-esque look. I would have much
preferred a normal sedan design.

Yes the car is amazing in a ton of other ways, and yes the look will probably
grow on me over time, but I don't want to "learn to love it". I want to
innately find it beautiful at first glance. And my initial, instinctual
reaction to the unveil was...a feeling of slight letdown.

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
Hatchbacks give you more headroom than sedans. So if they're primarily
concerned with its back seat roominess then going hatchback makes a lot of
sense.

Hatchbacks are simply more practical vehicles unfortunately. They don't even
have that much worse MPG than a sedan, and they give you a little more space
to work with. It is a pragmatic choice.

~~~
m_mueller
Hatchbacks are also hugely popular in Europe. Maybe it will grow on Americans
as well - something like the Model 3 could be watershed car that creates a new
design fashion.

------
mattbeckman
Just reserved mine. Of course, I double checked the terms to make sure it was
refundable, but I'm ready for it to change the game.

~~~
alvern
Over 115k reservations in 24hours! This is going to put serious pressure on
other auto makers to step up their game.

~~~
rokhayakebe
More like game over for some auto makers. You have to think for $35,000 would
most people rather get a Tesla, a BMW, a Lexus, a Mercedes, or an Audi? Tesla
is going to grab many of these guys customers. I for one, can't wait for my
lease to be over.

~~~
csours
It will take a while. BMW, Mercedes and Audi each sell 1.5MM a year [1]

Tesla have targeted 500k vehicles a year, which would be a huge stretch from
their current 70k a year.

1\.
[http://www.autonews.com/article/20140113/COPY01/301139914/bm...](http://www.autonews.com/article/20140113/COPY01/301139914/bmw-
retains-global-luxury-sales-crown-for-ninth-straight-year)

~~~
dingo_bat
>sell 1.5MM a year

Is MM a typo or a legit way to write million?

I decided to find out and here's a reddit thread explaining:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/2sd9bm/why_do_peop...](https://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/2sd9bm/why_do_people_abbreviate_million_as_mm/)

~~~
csours
I just re-used it without looking it up... From that, it seems to make more
sense in a financial context.

Some more source:
[https://books.google.com/books?id=3fIUAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA426&vq=m...](https://books.google.com/books?id=3fIUAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA426&vq=mille#v=onepage&q=mille&f=false)

------
jvm
> Both cars will start at $30,000 or less after federal tax credits of $7,500
> are applied. And both go at least 200 miles on a fully charged battery. The
> Bolt is a five-passenger hatchback that boasts cargo space and more legroom
> for rear passengers—front-seat backs are an inch thinner than in most cars.

Looks almost identical specs-wise to Chevy Bolt, which will be available at
the end of _2016_ rather than 2017.

[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-31/tesla-s-
ne...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-31/tesla-s-newest-
electric-enemy-chevy)

~~~
aerovistae
As if to suggest people wouldn't be willing to wait a year to get the 3
instead of the Bolt. Do you really think these two products have equivalent
level of appeal?

I'm sorry, I may be missing something re: specs, but can you point to where it
says that the Bolt will go 0-60 in <6s?

Also, does the Bolt have a nationwide supercharging network? Does it have
autopilot? Does it have an astounding, unparalleled safety rating?

~~~
mdorazio
Sure. Planned 0-60 in under 7 seconds for the Bolt [1] with similar fast
charging capability at suitable chargers. If we're going to split hairs over
being a second faster off the line when it's already not even as fast as
significantly cheaper cars, then I'm not sure what to say. The lack of a
supercharger network is definitely a downside for Chevy, but for your average
commuter that shouldn't be a major issue. Please also keep in mind that
autopilot is not free for the Model 3 (or Model S) - it's a $3,000 upgrade.

Is the Bolt actually a better car? No, but I think it's evidence that if
automakers actually get serious about electric they can put together something
competitive and bring it to market far faster than Tesla.

[1] [http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/detroit-auto-
show/news...](http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/detroit-auto-
show/news/a27858/chevy-bolt-0-60-charging-time/)

~~~
mikeash
I think the lack of a supercharger network is going to be huge. Yes, for your
average commuter it _shouldn 't_ be a major issue, but it will be just the
same. How to take road trips is the number one question/concern people have
when I show them my Model S. There are many arguments to make about how it
shouldn't matter, because long road trips are rare, you can take a different
car, or rent a car, etc. But people just don't care. They don't want to spend
a bunch of money or a car they can't drive to Grandma's house for Christmas,
never mind that this is only an issue once a year and can be worked around.

Tiny nitpick: autopilot for the S and X (we'll see for the 3) is a $2,500
upgrade if you order it with the car. It's $3,000 if you activate it later.
Incidentally, $2,500 is about how much more expensive the Bolt is than the
Model 3.

~~~
mdorazio
Fair point. However I don't think there's anything preventing Chevy from
dropping the Bolt MSRP in late 2017 or 2018 to be more price competitive. By
then it will have been out for more than a year.

------
impish19
I was hoping he was referring to something other than the snacks that were
served to the people camping overnight outside stores to order the Model 3
with this tweet:
[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715566236822671360](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715566236822671360)

"Incredibly inspired by the interest in Model 3. You won't be disappointed.
Also, small token of appreciation coming for those who lined up."

~~~
giarc
I saw in a forum that a Tesla staff member said it would be mailed out to the
in store pre-orders.

------
S_A_P
Looks nice. I'm not completely sold on the nose but have no complaints about
the rest. I am happy to see 115k+ preorders. Congrats Tesla!

------
ttam
a line:
[https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/715632500303761408](https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/715632500303761408)

holy shit comes to mind

~~~
jtokoph
You would think Tesla was giving away cars with that kind of line.

------
bronz
I have waited 4 years for this moment. I can hardly believe it's finally
happening. Cheers.

------
rayalez
Video on youtube(high quality):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VGQPk2Dl8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VGQPk2Dl8)

~~~
pepijndevos
Thanks. Is it me or is the camera tilted CCW a bit?

------
jonkiddy
115k reservations in 24 hours. $115m. That is an excellent first day. Assuming
there aren't many cancelations, ~$4B+ total by 4Q 2016. Very nice. However, I
don't think the hype matched the presentation.

~~~
mikeyouse
Q42018... Sales won't start until the end of 2017 (if things stay on schedule)
and production will likely ramp up, I'd be surprised if they sell 100k Model
3s in the first year. Still, the average revenue to Tesla will probably be on
the higher end, $45-$50k since they'll likely prioritize the performance
versions as they've done for the S and the X so far, so 100k x $45k still gets
you to $4.5B.

------
bane
re: the commercial barrage, How the hell much to they pay postal carriers in
Rural Minnesota? I'm definitely in the wrong business and live in the wrong
place.

~~~
shirro
Not sure if the commercials are geo-targetted but if you get the Australian
guy his name is Simon Hackett. He founded an Internet business here.

An interesting thing is Hackett is executive chairman of a company called
Redflow which claims its Zinc Bromine home storage solution is better than Li-
ion ones like Tesla Powerwall (though it seems to be a fair bit more
expensive).

~~~
voltagex_
I want to see this ad - is it on UStream?

------
m-i-l
There's a link to a replay of the launch event on the Tesla Model 3 product
page at
[https://www.teslamotors.com/model3](https://www.teslamotors.com/model3) (the
link is to [https://vimeo.com/161138986](https://vimeo.com/161138986) ).

------
voltagex_
>Flash plugin missing

>Get the latest Flash player to view this content

A car from 2016, a video from 1996.

Edit:
[https://www.ustream.tv/embed/22190759](https://www.ustream.tv/embed/22190759),
original link had a "html5ui" parameter but it doesn't seem to help.

Livestreamer with --default-stream mobile_720p gets 403.

~~~
cookiecaper
Yep. The player on the event screen (after you fill in information) has no
timeshifting controls either. Stuck watching the whole thing with no fast-
forward or rewind. Just tried to do so but got bored after 10 minutes of Model
S commercials.

~~~
greglindahl
You're watching a few commercials in a loop before the event starts, and you
want a fast-forward button?

~~~
cookiecaper
I may have misunderstood. I thought the event had already occurred and that
this was a recording. I didn't check the event start time. The event hasn't
started yet? I'm on the East Coast so I guess it just seems late.

It would've been helpful if there was some visual indication that the event
hadn't started yet, like a countdown.

------
fumar
It's exciting to see the model 3 take more hatchback proportions. I hope it
brings the hatch functionality to a more mainstream US audience. It also
solidifies the global nature of Tesla. Hatchbacks and wagons are commonplace
in Europe – oftentimes preferred over an SUV or sedan.

------
NamTaf
Hey wow it's Simon Hackett [1]. I wouldn't be surprised if he did this for
free - he's always been a big supporter.

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Hackett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Hackett)

~~~
shirro
He is a huge fan. He had a Roadster as well.

Fun fact is he appears to be heavily involved in a company aiming to compete
with Tesla's Powerwall: [http://redflow.com/about-us/board-
management/](http://redflow.com/about-us/board-management/)

~~~
voltagex_
Aha! He was being cagey about the name of this company so they must be getting
closer. He lost a lot of respect after being on the NBN board but this might
go a long way to restoring it.

------
lai
Wow it looks really nice. The front is completely sealed.

~~~
Ingon
Yeah, I understand that's a bold "see, I'm electric" statement, but still
feels a bit awkward.

~~~
tokipin
Most cars have grills because they need the ventilation to cool the engine. I
think they're mostly something we've gotten used to. When electric cars become
more common those gas car grills will probably start looking clunky.

------
ch8230
They have a periscope link open
[https://www.periscope.tv/TeslaMotors/1ynJOXkmWdZxR](https://www.periscope.tv/TeslaMotors/1ynJOXkmWdZxR)

~~~
ch8230
EDIT:

The link was only a preview. It links back to their site now. Kinda defeats
the purpose of using Periscope.

------
Illniyar
Since the symbol looks like an E, it replaces the E in Tesla and the previous
models were named S and X.

Shouldn't this really be the model E and not 3?

~~~
rattray
Yes, that was the company's hope until Ford stopped them:
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/06/04/elon-
mus...](http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/06/04/elon-musk-ford-is-
killing-sex/#1c5d5c7f7db5)

------
ph0rque
"Thanks for tuning in to the Model 3 unveil Part 1! Part 2 is super next
level, but that's for later…"
[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715765746429784064](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/715765746429784064)

------
viperscape
The low price especially concerns me since that means they're targeting high
volume sales. A great question is what will become of the millions of
batteries 5, 10, 15 years from now.

[https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/mythbusters-
part-3-recyclin...](https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/mythbusters-
part-3-recycling-our-non-toxic-battery-packs)

Goes in to some detail but basically states, we have some good ideas, but our
fallback is the land fill since these batteries etc are considered non toxic.
Still: sourcing, building, recycling, and disposing of these batteries seems
like a giant problem that is hard to believe is environmentally sound

------
bronz
Wow. The interior is absolutely jaw dropping. It looks so fucking good.

------
dynofuz
over 100000 orders... so they just made $100M in less than a day in just
reservations. nice.

~~~
Cthulhu_
Well, they're just reservations and they can't exactly spend the money, since
they'd have to repay it. Also it's 10M, not 100.

~~~
hmate9
100,000 * $1,000 = $100,000,000

------
Fuzzwah
I can see a good opportunity to start designing an after market replacement
nose..... Looks a little uninspired, where as the rest of the design looks
amazing.

------
shekyboy
115k in pre-orders totaling to $4B

So today was their Kickstarter pitch :-)

------
ck2
As long as there is a metal roof option in a couple decades when I can finally
afford to buy one third-hand used.

Glass roof anywhere in the southwestern or southeastern usa is the worst idea
I've ever seen. Not only the sun but stuff constantly being thrown on or at it
on the highways.

Never had a windshield last more than a decade without a crack, imagine what
it costs to replace a piece of glass the size of a car.

~~~
illumin8
I've never had a rear window or sunroof get a rock chip on the highway before,
have you?

------
Yabood
That is a very good looking 35K car! Job well done.

------
fungi
you can pad mash any name and email

~~~
UnoriginalGuy
I did just on principle.

So Tesla can enjoy their millions of undeliverables and bouncebacks. Good luck
on those leads Tesla sales.

~~~
diskcat
nah they just want the number for marketing purposes

>1 million tuned in to watch the unveiling and we got this list of emails to
prove it

>dick@dick.penis

~~~
therein
Wow, Donuts Domains is making everything a TLD nowadays.

~~~
fungi
1\. get drunk

2\. [http://dumb.domains/](http://dumb.domains/)

3\. wake up with stupid domains

------
dragontamer
Seats five is interesting... but I'm not quite seeing the perspective. Its
hard to tell the size difference.

From my eyes, it looks like its roughly the size of a Scion, maybe only a
little bit larger than a Honda Fit. Which seats 5... technically... but its
not too comfortable. Its more of a 4-seater with a 5th seat that may be used
if you care about it.

~~~
robmcm
Because of the lack of combustion engine, gear box and drive train the
interior of the Model S is huge compared to other similar sized conventional
cars.

I imagine the model 3 has the same benefits and the interior is a lot larger
than it looks.

------
mpg33
Starts at 830PT correct?

~~~
voltagex_
If they're on time.

That's 0330 UTC, for anyone who wants to convert it.

~~~
bronz
This is actually a very good point because these events have started late more
than once.

------
agumonkey
I may be that paranoid, but the glass roof feels as thrilling as scary. What
happens if something drops on it ? if the car ends up tumbling ? the roll cage
is probably as sturdy as anything Tesla did before but that seems like a too
large open spot ..

~~~
Cthulhu_
It'd probably just shatter; should be laminated glass so it wouldn't explode
into your eyes much. Regular cars are just as scary when you think about it,
imagine the roof collapsing on top of you.

~~~
agumonkey
Well, two flavor of hell. Metal doesn't fracture. So it shields you for a
while, but it it can also hold you hostage.

~~~
arprocter
I rolled a car with a sunroof once - luckily the shade was closed so I didn't
have to crawl over too much broken glass.

The door windows also disappeared, but the front screen stayed together

------
lai
Wow, is that Transformers music?

~~~
barbs
It felt a bit more "IronMan-esque" to me, personally :)

------
mehrdada
He mentioned it has autopilot hardware standard (like the current Model S),
which makes me suspect you have to pay a few thousand dollars more to unlock
it in software.

~~~
mikeash
He said autopilot safety features will be standard, which means the
convenience features (lane keeping, automatic parking, etc.) will cost extra.
Just like the S and X.

~~~
rconti
Right to both points -- that's how I read it too. You could call it
"crippleware", though autopilot hardware (albeit on a 2018 car, though on the
other hand in 35k of 2018 dollars) ain't exactly cheap. It's probably more
economical for Tesla to build the cars with the same h/w and then upcharge for
the s/w. And it's nice to have the opportunity to do a software update for it
if you later want it, even though I know some don't like the crippleware
"feel". And yes, I also heard them saying the safety stuff will be standard.
Again, makes sense. Nobody wants the bad PR of installing safety hardware, but
some poor family got killed by their Unsafe Tesla Car (TM) because of a
software feature that was disabled by Evilon Musk.

------
usaphp
can't stand those yelling people in behind...I wish I can turn on subtitles
and turn off the volume

------
Illniyar
Can someone explain to me what tesla 3 is? Why all the hype?

~~~
DarkTree
Elon Musk has been working to build not only the best electric vehicle, but
the best vehicle in the world. The Tesla Model S was that vehicle in many
ways, though it came at a high price point. Musk's first goal was to build
this luxury Model S in order to build up a reputation, research EV technology,
perfect the production line, acquire funding and gain a loyal following.
However, this was just a preliminary step necessary to achieve his primary
goal of bringing a mass-market electric vehicle into the world. This is where
the Model 3 comes into play. It is an affordable, EV car built by Tesla for
the general public. Elon and many people hope that bringing a mass-market,
performance EV to the world will enact a shift away from combustion engine
cars and therefore help dampen the damage humans are causing to the
environment.

------
jsprogrammer
Just a sign up form? For a hamburger menu icon?

~~~
prawn
For a live stream that was yet to start.

------
dcgoss
Buckle your seatbelts!

------
cr__
Oh, good, "unveil" is a noun now, too.

~~~
bronz
Actually the title was originally "Model3 Unveil Live-stream [video]" but it
mysteriously changed to what it is now. I'm not complaining though.

~~~
dang
We changed it to the page title, which is what the HN guidelines ask you to
use in the first place, unless it is misleading or linkbait.

~~~
bronz
Thank you for simply correcting it instead of just deleting it. I didn't mean
to do that.

~~~
dang
You're most welcome, but just so you know, we'd never delete a story for that
reason. That would be an awful lot of deletion :)

------
node-bayarea
Wrote: Tesla Model 3 = Massive Traffic Jams + Parking Problems! Am I wrong?
[https://medium.com/@rajaraodv/tesla-model-3-massive-
traffic-...](https://medium.com/@rajaraodv/tesla-model-3-massive-traffic-jams-
parking-problems-269b120657e9#.5ylvp0t4r)

------
salimmadjd
A gated experience to watch the unveil video?

Is Tesla desperate for leads and sales? This tells me Tesla is hurting for
numbers or they're worried about GM Bolt and others. So they want to spam the
interested parties or keep them from committing to other brands for the next
year or so until Model 3 is available.

BTW, Bolt has already been unveiled [0]

And some manufacturing has already started [1]

[0] [http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/01/chevrolets-bolt-is-an-
el...](http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/01/chevrolets-bolt-is-an-electric-
vehicle-for-the-masses-and-weve-driven-it/)

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqJ7Ob9I5eQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqJ7Ob9I5eQ)

~~~
skilesare
If this thing looks even remotely like a bolt I'll be mashing the refund
button. I'm expecting something more like a Nissan Maxima (S) -> Nissan Altima
(3) not Cadillac -> Golf Cart.

~~~
bronson
I'm guessing the refund button is safe.

