BC01191980

What does everyone think of it?

2012wagon

Looks good.

LaCostaRacer

I like! About to place a reservation- would be nicer to have some more details on length, etc. Speculation is that it will be BMW 3 Series size or 80% of model S.

I like the size, looks, and performance. Acura better get into gear or it could lose a number of 3G owners that have been waiting for a right sized, efficient & performance car.

LaCostaRacer

^ just pulled the trigger on a reservation

2012wagon

Love the roof

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1dRKZyRkpgNxB

dezymond

I like it. My dad said he may make it his choice for his next car. Doesn't travel much, more than reasonable price, and no fuel costs.

I think Tesla has a real winner here. Maybe just wait til second generation, or software updates.

LaCostaRacer

By the time I get my Model 3, there will be lots of software updates. I heard there were 115k reservations at the time of the unveiling. There will be 200k by the end of this weekend. I am impressed at how well appointed the prototype cars are on the Periscope video- it looks very similar to the interior of my friend's Model S who also placed a reservation. I hope to get the mid level AWD version- with the projected 4.4 0-60.

Treblig

I like it. Would like to have more details and specs on the car. If anyone saw the introduction broadcast, I like what looks like the "sport" version which was presented in what looked like a matte finish.

RDX10

Although I like it, I definitely like the model S MUCH more. Everything from the looks of the S, to the power, to the speed. But, would never consider one right now.

I have range anxiety, that is I get nervous when my gas tank gets below 1/3. Where I live, I don't think I have any supercharging stations. I DO NOT want to get caught without any juice. Like imagine taking the car to the lake in the summer and then it dying somewhere on the way home, triple A or even a walk to the nearest gas station is not possible. I am no leaving my car on the highway somewhere either.

I realize that even a gas powered car can run out if juice, it is just the greater access to fuel that makes it much easier for me. I don't worry about where to get gas, but I would worry about where to get electricity. Now lets say down the road the governemnt mandated that every gas station must have a supercharging station and put some along the highway, then damn right I would be all over this!

BEAR-AvHistory

Posted range of 215 miles is way to short for a practical car.

BC01191980

I think it's cool but I may turn in my tlx when lease ends in 2018 and get a crossover

The range needs to be higher for sure

Also in the bay area since there is a housing crisis I can't afford a house with garage at this time so it would be hard to charge

Maybe tesla will make a smaller model x next

Also hoping the rdx gets refreshed by early 2018

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

215 miles is the lowest range that will be offered.

This thing is a beauty that will sell well at the price point it is at.

kurtatx

What price point is that? How stripped down is the $35,000 model? When will it actually ship? These are the questions I would need answered before I believe in this thing.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

5 Facts That Were Just Unveiled About the Tesla Model 3 » AutoGuide.com News

"Musk confirmed that pricing will start from $35,000 and even with no options it is a “real good car.” Deliveries will start at the end of next year and Musk feels fairly confident that Tesla will be able to stick to that schedule, unlike the Model X."

Vague, to say the least but even the standard car will have auto pilot.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Pay $1,000 in Spring of 2016 and get a chance to buy the car in late 2017??

Is this a Kickstarter project

erdoc48

I agree that it might seem unusual to pay $1000 for a car that's not yet produced but it's way more probable to have a real car at the end of the waiting period than the Elio that may never see the light of day production wise. I think Tesla has the proper formula and if the price is right and no gas needed (the gas prices as they are will not stay low indefinitely), they will sell quite a few of them.

Is that huge roof inclusive of an opening sunroof or is it too early to tell?

I actually like the look quite a bit...I was slightly put off by the lack of a grille but since there's none needed, it's probably part of a cost saving measure and in the future, maybe all the electrics will just look that way (and maybe it's for aerodynamic benefit as well).

2012wagon

Thanks again tesla stock !!

erdoc48

I read people lamenting the 215 mile range but in reality, that's likely a good number with which to work. In terms of daily driver use, that figure will accommodate most people (I'm sure very few would drive that distance daily) and in terms of a charging network, as long as it's extensive, charging a) won't be an issue so long as there's enough stations and b) with the smaller pack, it can be charged more quickly, likely to full in 20 minutes or so (this is based on a P90 pack charged with a supercharger to 80% in 30 minutes). Personally, I don't see any issues with recharging.

BEAR-AvHistory

If I am reading it correctly when Tesla uses range its from start till the battery goes flat. That means the "range" out & back with no reserve is only 107 miles under ideal conditions. Maybe an hour & a half driving time.

Noticed on the big Tesla when they quote range its under a very specific set of circumstances. Speed, low end of normal freeway speeds, outside temperature (A/C-Heater use) terrain, etc. Outside those parameters the range falls off very quickly.

Might be an excellent city car but I believe you would need something else in addition if you wanted to go anyplace outside the city or neighborhood.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I think the issue there is you need another car for any longer trips or vacations. I suppose you could always rent a car or take your spouses car if you're married. The range is likely not an issue for 95% of the time.

accord1999

Typically, the smaller battery charges slower because it can't handle as much electricity. And even the big battery versions can't charge that fast, for the 85 kWh model it takes closer to 50 minutes to get to 80%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQIp...ature=youtu.be

RDX10

215 miles is perfectly ideal conditions too. I doubt you would see that driving in a hilly area or a crap ton of stop and go traffic. Couple the lowish range with sparse stations...and then needing a second car for longer trips? Not yet.

Rocket_man

It is an interesting car but here are the problems from my perspective... they just won't be able to produce them in quantities they need. They can barely keep up with Model S demand. They already have enough pre-orders for how many months of production? Probably a year at least and they just started taking orders. Soon there will be a panic of people trying to get on the list so they even have a chance. This also depends on their Giga factory getting up to speed and hitting their cost goals for battery production. There is a lot of risk there.

I would not mind a car like this. Even on the low end of the range scale it would get me by for 99% of my driving needs. But the Model S I sat in did not impress me as a $100K car. I can only imagine what corners they had to cut to get this down to $35K. But if tax rebates stick around, it is a good value, just can't have high expectations. It might make a good used car for daily driving.

Saintor

Tesla will be the next Nortel Networks.

They can't even make money with 50000 Model S @ $80000, the more they sell the more money they lose. And now they assume that will be profitable with a car costing less than half? lol.

Anyway electric cars, like diesel ones, are a dead end.

weather

I think the lines are OK and sure looks interesting for sure. I am not sure if electric cars will ever be the long term solution to vehicles relying on fossil fuel. They might help with the transition but I can't see how the mass production of batteries is sustainable.

Now I am not one to complain too much about "off topics" discussions or comments cause I am just as guilty of participating in them but I think this thread should be in the general car talk - It has nothing to do with the TLX. Again, I don't mind, just making an observation.

KeithL

Not digging the sparse dash with just a huge tablet hanging from the center. Needs some gauges inf front of steering wheel. Also I guess I would get used to the grille-less front which I am sure will be a chip riddled after a bit.

RDX10

This is the one thing that I just don't understand about Tesla. They can't keep up with production, they are selling like crazy, yet they are still not profitable? What is going on? Then they roll out 2 more models and are still unprofitable?

But I disagree with you about diesel being a dead end, the US is not the whole world. 80% of the world drive nothing but diesels. Electric cars in the other hand? Yes I agree, when those batteries die, so does the car.

Rocket_man

Bolting a huge tablet to the dash and calling it done is one way to keep costs down. I'll bet there are many other cost cutting measures that aren't obvious from these pics.

But... I like those silver wheels. I don't understand why it is so hard for Acura to design a wheel. Here is a company on their 3rd model.... ever.... and clearly it is not that hard. Figure it out Acura.

LaCostaRacer

As we saw with the TLX prototype .vs. actual production model, cars can transform before you can buy them either positively or negatively.

A couple points on the model 3:

- Elon said it would have a 215 MINIMUM range for the base model and have SuperCharger capability. While he didn't get into the other versions of the 3, you
can safely assume there will be other battery size choices for anybody with range anxiety. I'm used to driving a 80 mile Leaf now, so 215-250 miles is ample for 80% of my car needs. A 30 minute supercharge tops the car for another 250 miles and gets you to the Bay Area from San Diego for the 20% of my car's other needs.

- The general Tesla interior design is what I think is the weakest part of the car and Teslas in general. My friend's model S really doesn't have many cubbies, map pockets or other areas to store stuff. I guess it looks nice but isn't super functional. It looked like the 3 might have a console at least from the periscope videos.

- The 35K price is before incentives! So this car is priced about 6k above a Leaf S , looks better, performs better, and has double the range for the extra 6K- a definite value. At that price, it will likely have a cloth/fake leather interior but the mid range versions would get the leather and bigger battery.

- I was hoping there would be a charge port in the front of the car but looks like it will be like the S at the rear (drivers side?). The Leaf has a great design with the front charging port having owned an electric car for 3 years- you can basically charge anywhere without having to back into spots.

It will be an interesting couple years seeing what both Tesla and Acura do.

kurtatx

I'm still unwilling to say the price is a positive until we know what exactly the Model 3 is.

Also, there will be no incentives. Tesla is going for the Apple model. Full price everything. The tax rebate will have dried up before most of the current preorders ship.

I would expect the Model 3 internals to be similar to that of an ILX (albeit a little bigger) or a little worse. That technology is still not cheap.

BEAR-AvHistory

Two things. Musk says to the investors he expects the average price to be $42K. Based on the TESLA owners sites "what is your real word mileage" the big cars are seeing a lot of sub 200 mile postings.

Hard to believe people will plunk down a non-escrowed deposit for a car most have never seen & none have driven or even sat in.

Great deal for Musk to be able to use other peoples money for his development fund & they don't even get stock in exchange.

Sounds like TUCKER II.

BEAR-AvHistory

C&D said at the reveal its similar to the Mazda 3 in size.

RDX10

So is the sub 200 mile range a function of the car size, weight, or the way people are driving these potential speed demons? If the sub 200 range is occuring with normal use, then can we expect the same from the lighter 3 or will weight factor in to make the 3 more efficient and more likely to hit the target of 215 miles?

BC01191980

I was curious how it would compare to tlx

A lot of good points

LaCostaRacer

A sub 200 mile range on a 85/90KW battery Tesla would be because of how the car is driven- a few catapult take offs and flooring it at highway speeds which is normal for a new Tesla driver. The model 3 will be smaller than the model S, and have a smaller battery pack.

What you might not realize is that driving an electric car and its energy efficiency is almost the exact opposite of a conventional car. Highway speeds detract from efficiency while city traffic doesn't degrade as much as a regular car. My Leaf's range always suffers when I get on the highway and go 65+ while it's fine on city streets going 30-55mph.

Tesla definitely has a nice funding source for R&D and manufacturing with all the reservations- I just received an email confirming reservation but don't have a number- it will be high. The email says that current owners will get priority which seems very reasonable. I would have never guessed making two transactions on two different electric cars in one week- bought out the lease on our Leaf and then this reservation on a Tesla. I guess I got a good dose of the cool aid. My wife loves the Leaf and it's been a great car to own and I already had invested in the 220V charging system at home- seems like a logical step to get another electric car.

RDX10

I know that in hybrid gas-electric vehicles, the city mpg is usually higher than the highway mpg. I did not know that it also translated to pure electric vehicles.

Honestly, if I was to buy an pure electric car, I would only drive it in the city. Even the 215 mile range would be enough for me. Then my only reservation would be location of supercharging stations. If they could put more stations around, make them as common as gas stations, then I have zero issues.

I really hope to someday own a model S.

EricInMaryland

Tesla has to solve the charging station issue. He "Tesla" has to pay to get them out there. Municipalities have said no to paying. He made a lot of promises in this area and has not delivered.

The $1000 is just a means to measure seriousness. Its refundable. But, he is focussed on Space X. He released 2 super expensive models and with falling gas prices his product is not so compelling. He should have moved to this sedan 3 years ago.

There is zero chance anyone will pay $35K. Look to the mid 40's.

I drove the S and its fast as hell. BUT...the automatic braking recharge is annoying as hell. Turn it off and the range is reduced by 1/2.

I think the new Prius is a more compelling choice at the moment.

Saintor

I get your idea but not to the extent 80%.

Diesels are mostly unknown in Asia and the take rate in Europe has been going downhill in the last years, as many large cities just banned or taxed them heavily.

LaCostaRacer

When you own an electric car, you need to pony up for a Level2 (220V) charger- it's not practical to charge with a standard 110v charger. It's hard enough with a 24KW Leaf let alone a 60-90KW Tesla. Musk said they are planning on doubling the supercharger network and that will help. With that said, superchargers are mostly needed if you drive out of town or happen to live or work near one.

The regenerative braking takes some getting use to but really isn't bad. The Leaf has a nice way of changing modes with either the shifter or a button on the wheel- kind of like the electric overdrive autos of the 1990's. When I need to stop at a light, I kick it onto full regen and barely need to use the brakes. The regen is also nice going down steep hills because the car holds its speed pretty well. If you hate regen you'll also hate the Prius because it has the same thing.

BEAR-AvHistory

Its usage & how the miles per charge is calculated for the company adds vs real life numbrs. Think the poster who said city use has it right about its best place to perform.

Rumor has it lots of Taxi fleets are looking at it.

Its hard to define "Normal Use" What was normal for me when I lived in Jersey & worked on Wall Street is not what my normal useage is now living in Raleigh. So normal use is personal to each one of us depending on rela life use pattern.

On the highway IIRC the best Tesla numbers are below the general flow of interstate traffic at least here. The more load (speed, Hills, A/C Heat) you put on the battery the faster it will deplete.

The T3 is smaller than the existing model but so will be the battery. Very little info is actually in the publics hands about the new T3 to make any real judgement about the car.

For range Goggle "Tesla real life range" It will drop out Tesla customer message boards which have pretty good info on the current crs range & what effects it.