Unveiled: The Teslerr Model 3

laxmax613

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Tel Aviv, Israel
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Merkavim Mars
Because we need somewhere to put whatever feelings we might have toward this car, the way it was released, and its impact on the market (and on tesla's future)


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Not totally finished

$35k base model

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215 Mile base range

all specs 0-60 in less than six seconds

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"autopilot" feature standard

space for five

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Deliveries late '17

$115 mill in deposits already put down by customers


source.


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While I love the roof (and the seamless roof in the Model X is amazing..nothing like it), the way it joins the back of the car seems to indicate that this model won't have a lift-back and will have a traditional trunk...and with virtually no "deck" for the decklid, it'll be a mail slot. Sort of bummed by that. The roofline also seems tall, but that likely more means that the sills are low, and not that the roof is unnaturally high. Quite a contrast to the 2016 Camaro I drive next to today, where the door sills came up to the driver's earlobes.

I like it from most every angle, except that frontal area...just...needs something else there.
 
I like it from most every angle, except that frontal area...just...needs something else there.


This. I know it's on purpose "this isn't a gas car, you don't need a grille!"but it doesn't look good on the X or here.
 
I actually really like it, even the funky parts like the non-grill on the front. To me, it seems like a "leave this space open for future design" space, so I'm not counting on it staying that way. The same goes for the rear glass and hatch. It seems like part of the "unfinished" bit.

I'm not a pre-sale kinda guy, but I would seriously consider getting one after the first batch or two get sold and the hubbub dies down. Sounds like that is at least a year away though and still lots of change to come in both this car and the market in general. Certainly a step in the right direction though and I'm sure there will be some competition for it within the next couple years even outside of the Chevy Bolt.
 
That nose looks terrible.

I really like the car as a whole, but it doesn't look "done" yet. Not only will that front billboard be a magnet for stone chips, but it looks like a cheap Chinese knock off of something else that they never got around to completing. I'm not saying it needs a faux grill or anything, but it does need something in that space or it needs to be restyled to impart some personality.

Right now it looks like it was styled by the Asgard or the aliens in Independence Day.
 
Deliveries late '17

$115 mill in crowdfunding already put down by customers
FTFY. Elon is (obviously) no idiot. Tesla has no money. This car won't be ready for almost two years. They are taking deposits now... gee, I wonder why?

Yes, I dislike them (largely due to the people who buy them, and Elon himself), but this is undeniable. Tesla's creative methods of staying in business to this point are coming at a critical juncture. 1) they have to survive long enough for this car to reach production (possible), and 2) the car has to be a megahit (likely, given the deposits).
 
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While the car as a whole does not look bad, that grill-less nose is just wrong.


See coach, I got my mowff guard in.


Also, this pic needs some eyelashes and lipstick.
 
The whole car looks like it's a non-finished mockup design. Let's hope it is.
 
laxmax613 said:

The whole car looks like it's a non-finished mockup design. Let's hope it is.

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I don't think it looks much different (aside from, IMO, better-looking headlights and foglights) than the Model X.
 
I quite like it.
If I could afford one (and lives some place I could actually own one) I would consider it.
I think the front without a grill looks weird because if seems they designed it backwards, covering a previous design that had one, instead of starting with a grill-less front in mind.
 
Made my reservation on Thursday morning. Watched the reveal earlier today to see what I actually preordered :p Not disappointed, will definitely be keeping the reservation.

Love the exterior. Interior is obviously unfinished, though I like the minimalistic take. Really hope there will be at least an optional driver-side windshield projection HUD - having speed and other critical data in the central display is weird (and that's how it is intended as of now, confirmed by one of the in-car ride videos from the unveil event).

Stated performance numbers, I'm happy with - 215 miles EPA range and <6s 0-60 for the base car, I don't really want more :) And base is confirmed to be RWD with AWD being an option. I will consider AWD and a larger-than-base battery when the configuration becomes available, depending on the price and range difference might go for it or stick with the basic stuff. Included Supercharger was expected, and really good to have. Same for included Autopilot hardware, and I will be definitely getting the full suite - it's one of the reasons for the whole car for me.

Genuinely looking forward for the Part 2 of the reveal and production start next year. Here's to it being on time...
 
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Like just about everyone else, I like it other than the stupid grille-less nose.
 
Jumping on the ugly face bandwagon. It looks like something from Automation before you put the grille in.

Also I can't stand that minimalist interior. Looks like they put no effort into it and just threw a computer monitor in the middle for the reveal.

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I think that the grille-less front, no matter how ugly it is, is needed to show how this is an electric car, rather than an ICE-powered car. It is there for marketing purposes.
 
Yeah but apart form being grille-less, it's also kinda feature-less. That's what disturbs people there. It looks like there should have been a grille, but it was removed later. Tesla should have put more effort into the design of the front fascia, light optics and the interior, too. The rest I like.
 
An interesting article on why Tesla had to take pre-orders so early, there is much more at the link but basically Tesla might be coming to an end.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...odel-3-could-destroy-elon-musk-s-company.html

But there?s another, more troubling explanation for Tesla?s rush: The company needs more cash to actually complete development of the Model 3 and bring it to market. Tesla has been burning cash at a remarkable rate over the last year in order to ramp up Model X production and develop the Model 3: As of the end of last year, it was down to its last $1 billion in cash (maybe $1.2 billion, rounding up). Given its deep operating losses (it burned nearly $1 billion in cash in 2015 alone), that burn rate is too high to survive until 2018 while completing development work on the Model 3 and ramping up the sales, service, and Supercharger infrastructure needed to handle the expected new influx of customers. Even the $115 million in deposits collected won?t make a dent in Tesla?s capital requirements.
But the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of preorders for car that?s still years away from delivery will almost certainly boost Tesla?s volatile share price high enough to support a secondary equity offering without causing an exodus of existing investors. If the next 48 hours turn into the media circus everyone seems to expect, Tesla will be able to raise the billions it needs from an investor base that will be more convinced than ever that Tesla has built the brand power to make itself the Apple of automobiles, with corresponding Apple-like profits to come
 
Wasn't a massive chunk of it's budget for last year a factory that they should be finishing up soon?
 
Yeah, almost all of their budget is currently flowing into the Gigafactory (battery production) and expansion of the production plant in Freemont. The Gigafactory is currently ahead of schedule and already partionally operational (that's where they build the PowerWalls). In the coming year, a lot of money will be needed to expand the store and supercharger/destination charging networks, as promised in the presentation. But I don't see a reason that shouldn't work out.
 
Wasn't a massive chunk of it's budget for last year a factory that they should be finishing up soon?

Not a big enough chunk to account for their cash burn rate. Remember, Tesla's been running non-GAAP accounting in their financial reports for years and every single one of their cars has gone out the door at a very real loss despite their 'paper profit' due to their creative accounting schemes.
 
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