Photo: Tesla Motors
Tesla promised the world a $35,000 electric sedan, and in the last of March, the Model 3 was revealed to unprecedented - and slightly unexpected - acclaim. 373,000 people have since made deposits for one of these EVs that won't see production for at least another year.
But just because you can get a Model 3 for $35,000 it doesn't mean that there were a lot of people who actually went for the most accessible version. In fact, Tesla has a very detailed account of who ordered what, so it knows better than anybody how willing these potential clients were to spend on their new EV.
Last week, Tesla reintroduced a more affordable version of the Model S luxury sedan with a lower capacity battery and, thus, a lower acquisition price. Still, at $66,000 (RWD single-motor with a 60 kWh battery pack), the Model S 60 is probably on par with the most expensive Model 3 available, which doesn't really make the two interchangeable.
It's hard to tell when you're not in that situation, but we believe we'd hold on to our registration and hope Tesla increases its production capacity and moves our delivery date sooner. The Model 3 may be smaller, but it's a completely new vehicle, unlike the Model S which will soon be four years old, despite the recent facelift. Besides, all signs point towards the Model 3 being equipped with a new range of sensors that can make it fully-autonomous with a simple future software upgrade, something the Model S won't be able to do.
That won't stop Tesla from trying to lure Model 3 reservation holders into buying the larger sedan. Considering they don't already own a Model S (even though we'd suspect a lot of them do), Tesla is hoping that the prospect of a larger car will be enough to convince them to skip the wait for the Model 3 and get a Model S 60 right now.
Tesla sent out emails informing its clients of the Model S 60 launch, but Electrek reports some Model 3 reservation holders also received a second message that read: “We are thrilled to have just launched the new Model S 60 and as a valued model 3 reservation holder I wanted to personally reach out to invite you to University Town Center Showroom to experience Model S 60 and 60D. It is a wonderful opportunity to get into a custom designed Tesla with payments starting at $667/mth before gas and tax incentive savings. Depending on your current vehicle trade-in value the monthly payment could be even lower.
We know how excited you are to receive your Model 3 and wanted to ensure you had the chance to work with myself and our team to explore the options of getting into a Tesla even sooner. Please let me know if I can arrange a test drive experience for you or answer any questions. We would also be happy to review your current trade-in options as well. We are here to help you build your dream car and continue our mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport.”
And to make matters even more transparent, Tesla published a customer story on Monday where a couple looking to book a Model 3 left the store with two Model S. Yeah, right.
Last week, Tesla reintroduced a more affordable version of the Model S luxury sedan with a lower capacity battery and, thus, a lower acquisition price. Still, at $66,000 (RWD single-motor with a 60 kWh battery pack), the Model S 60 is probably on par with the most expensive Model 3 available, which doesn't really make the two interchangeable.
It's hard to tell when you're not in that situation, but we believe we'd hold on to our registration and hope Tesla increases its production capacity and moves our delivery date sooner. The Model 3 may be smaller, but it's a completely new vehicle, unlike the Model S which will soon be four years old, despite the recent facelift. Besides, all signs point towards the Model 3 being equipped with a new range of sensors that can make it fully-autonomous with a simple future software upgrade, something the Model S won't be able to do.
That won't stop Tesla from trying to lure Model 3 reservation holders into buying the larger sedan. Considering they don't already own a Model S (even though we'd suspect a lot of them do), Tesla is hoping that the prospect of a larger car will be enough to convince them to skip the wait for the Model 3 and get a Model S 60 right now.
Tesla sent out emails informing its clients of the Model S 60 launch, but Electrek reports some Model 3 reservation holders also received a second message that read: “We are thrilled to have just launched the new Model S 60 and as a valued model 3 reservation holder I wanted to personally reach out to invite you to University Town Center Showroom to experience Model S 60 and 60D. It is a wonderful opportunity to get into a custom designed Tesla with payments starting at $667/mth before gas and tax incentive savings. Depending on your current vehicle trade-in value the monthly payment could be even lower.
We know how excited you are to receive your Model 3 and wanted to ensure you had the chance to work with myself and our team to explore the options of getting into a Tesla even sooner. Please let me know if I can arrange a test drive experience for you or answer any questions. We would also be happy to review your current trade-in options as well. We are here to help you build your dream car and continue our mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable transport.”
And to make matters even more transparent, Tesla published a customer story on Monday where a couple looking to book a Model 3 left the store with two Model S. Yeah, right.
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