Is Tesla’s Model three Indeed a Mainstream Electrical Car?
The price of Tesla’s fresh electrified car hops up pretty quickly with any extra options.
Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson via Flickr
The price of Tesla’s fresh electrical car hops up pretty quickly with any extra options.
A decade ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisioned building an electrical car that would be both thrilling to drive and affordable.
Does the Model three car that Musk passed off to the very first thirty customers last Friday meet that description? Almost. But Tesla still has more work to do to improve affordability.
The basic version of Tesla’s Model three car starts off at $35,000 (before incentives), which is the average transaction price for a car in the U.S. today. But the Model three can quickly run up into the $50,000 range if a customer adds on a few of the extra features. The fully loaded version will cost $57,000.
If a customer wants a paint color for the Model three that isn’t black, that’s an extra $1,000. A version with a longer battery range adds on an extra $9,000. Autopilot technology (Tesla’s self-driving car tech) will cost an extra $Five,000 to $8,000, depending the level of sophistication.
Back in Tesla’s early days, when the lower-cost car had the code name “Bluestar,” Musk talked about making a car in the price range of $20,000 to $30,000. At that price, add-on features would very likely supply a transaction cost around $35,000 off the lot.
The reality is that many Model three customers will be paying much more than $35,000 for their cars (which, for the enthusiastic early adopters, is still very likely acceptable).
The Model three is a big deal for Tesla and the electric-car industry in general. However, it shows how Tesla is still constrained by current battery costs, and how the electrified car industry is still in a stage of transition.
The batteries that went into the very first fifty Model three cars were made at the Gigafactory as planned. But the Gigafactory doesn’t emerge to be operating at scale yet. It likely won’t be for fairly some time.
The timing on this is critical. The Gigafactory (at scale) is supposed to lower Tesla’s battery costs by a third. Previously, Musk said Tesla could not make the Model three at a reasonable price without the Gigafactory.
Part of the battery cost improvements will come from ordinary economies of scale. Part of the savings will come from vertical integration and sourcing chemicals from local sources. Tesla is also looking to lower costs by using a larger battery form factor in the Model Trio, and even potentially a fresh chemistry.
It’s unlikely that Tesla has achieved these cost savings in the as-yet-unfinished, still low-volume factory. Initial battery production at the Gigafactory began just six months ago in conjunction with Panasonic. Those batteries were mostly for Tesla’s grid projects.
At the Friday event, Tesla was unusually reticent about the battery specs for the Model Trio. At the current juncture, the company seems only to want to talk about range in very general terms.
But albeit the Gigafactory is still a work in progress, Tesla is at the forefront of lithium-ion battery improvements. The company recently claimed a thirty five percent cost reduction at the Gigafactory, even at limited production volumes.
GTM Research and Wood Mackenzie predict that lithium-ion battery costs will fall by around sixty five percent inbetween two thousand sixteen and 2030.
By the middle of the next decade, electrical cars are likely to be cheaper than gasoline cars in the U.S. and Europe. (This is the reason why so many analysts are revising their electrified car sales projections upward.)
Tesla’s Model three is priced at $35,000 before incentives. That’s good for early buyers. However, Tesla will lose its eligibility for the federal tax credit after it produces 200,000 cars. It will hit that number fairly quickly.
State incentives could play a strong role in reducing the sticker price, but that will only help customers in states with aggressive subsidies such as California.
As Bloomberg points out, Tesla’s standard and long-range batteries for the Model three have already made big strides. The long-range Model three has the cheapest price per mile of range of any electrical car out there.
Tesla will likely proceed to lead in battery spectacle and cost improvements. But it’s still at the beginning of a long road to true mass-market affordability.
Is Tesla – s Model three Truly a Mainstream Electrified Car, Greentech Media
Is Tesla’s Model three Truly a Mainstream Electrified Car?
The price of Tesla’s fresh electrified car leaps up pretty quickly with any extra options.
Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson via Flickr
The price of Tesla’s fresh electrical car leaps up pretty quickly with any extra options.
A decade ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisioned building an electrified car that would be both thrilling to drive and affordable.
Does the Model three car that Musk passed off to the very first thirty customers last Friday meet that description? Almost. But Tesla still has more work to do to improve affordability.
The basic version of Tesla’s Model three car starts off at $35,000 (before incentives), which is the average transaction price for a car in the U.S. today. But the Model three can quickly run up into the $50,000 range if a customer adds on a few of the extra features. The fully loaded version will cost $57,000.
If a customer wants a paint color for the Model three that isn’t black, that’s an extra $1,000. A version with a longer battery range adds on an extra $9,000. Autopilot technology (Tesla’s self-driving car tech) will cost an extra $Five,000 to $8,000, depending the level of sophistication.
Back in Tesla’s early days, when the lower-cost car had the code name “Bluestar,” Musk talked about making a car in the price range of $20,000 to $30,000. At that price, add-on features would most likely supply a transaction cost around $35,000 off the lot.
The reality is that many Model three customers will be paying much more than $35,000 for their cars (which, for the enthusiastic early adopters, is still very likely acceptable).
The Model three is a big deal for Tesla and the electric-car industry in general. However, it shows how Tesla is still constrained by current battery costs, and how the electrical car industry is still in a stage of transition.
The batteries that went into the very first fifty Model three cars were made at the Gigafactory as planned. But the Gigafactory doesn’t show up to be operating at scale yet. It likely won’t be for fairly some time.
The timing on this is critical. The Gigafactory (at scale) is supposed to lower Tesla’s battery costs by a third. Previously, Musk said Tesla could not make the Model three at a reasonable price without the Gigafactory.
Part of the battery cost improvements will come from elementary economies of scale. Part of the savings will come from vertical integration and sourcing chemicals from local sources. Tesla is also looking to lower costs by using a larger battery form factor in the Model Trio, and even potentially a fresh chemistry.
It’s unlikely that Tesla has achieved these cost savings in the as-yet-unfinished, still low-volume factory. Initial battery production at the Gigafactory commenced just six months ago in conjunction with Panasonic. Those batteries were mostly for Tesla’s grid projects.
At the Friday event, Tesla was unusually reticent about the battery specs for the Model Trio. At the current juncture, the company seems only to want to talk about range in very general terms.
But albeit the Gigafactory is still a work in progress, Tesla is at the forefront of lithium-ion battery improvements. The company recently claimed a thirty five percent cost reduction at the Gigafactory, even at limited production volumes.
GTM Research and Wood Mackenzie predict that lithium-ion battery costs will fall by around sixty five percent inbetween two thousand sixteen and 2030.
By the middle of the next decade, electrified cars are likely to be cheaper than gasoline cars in the U.S. and Europe. (This is the reason why so many analysts are revising their electrified car sales projections upward.)
Tesla’s Model three is priced at $35,000 before incentives. That’s good for early buyers. However, Tesla will lose its eligibility for the federal tax credit after it produces 200,000 cars. It will hit that number fairly quickly.
State incentives could play a strong role in reducing the sticker price, but that will only help customers in states with aggressive subsidies such as California.
As Bloomberg points out, Tesla’s standard and long-range batteries for the Model three have already made big strides. The long-range Model three has the cheapest price per mile of range of any electrified car out there.
Tesla will likely proceed to lead in battery spectacle and cost improvements. But it’s still at the beginning of a long road to true mass-market affordability.
Is Tesla – s Model three Truly a Mainstream Electrical Car, Greentech Media
Is Tesla’s Model three Truly a Mainstream Electrical Car?
The price of Tesla’s fresh electrical car leaps up pretty quickly with any extra options.
Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson via Flickr
The price of Tesla’s fresh electrified car leaps up pretty quickly with any extra options.
A decade ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisioned building an electrical car that would be both thrilling to drive and affordable.
Does the Model three car that Musk passed off to the very first thirty customers last Friday meet that description? Almost. But Tesla still has more work to do to improve affordability.
The basic version of Tesla’s Model three car starts off at $35,000 (before incentives), which is the average transaction price for a car in the U.S. today. But the Model three can quickly run up into the $50,000 range if a customer adds on a few of the extra features. The fully loaded version will cost $57,000.
If a customer wants a paint color for the Model three that isn’t black, that’s an extra $1,000. A version with a longer battery range adds on an extra $9,000. Autopilot technology (Tesla’s self-driving car tech) will cost an extra $Five,000 to $8,000, depending the level of sophistication.
Back in Tesla’s early days, when the lower-cost car had the code name “Bluestar,” Musk talked about making a car in the price range of $20,000 to $30,000. At that price, add-on features would very likely produce a transaction cost around $35,000 off the lot.
The reality is that many Model three customers will be paying much more than $35,000 for their cars (which, for the enthusiastic early adopters, is still very likely acceptable).
The Model three is a big deal for Tesla and the electric-car industry in general. However, it shows how Tesla is still constrained by current battery costs, and how the electrified car industry is still in a stage of transition.
The batteries that went into the very first fifty Model three cars were made at the Gigafactory as planned. But the Gigafactory doesn’t emerge to be operating at scale yet. It likely won’t be for fairly some time.
The timing on this is critical. The Gigafactory (at scale) is supposed to lower Tesla’s battery costs by a third. Previously, Musk said Tesla could not make the Model three at a reasonable price without the Gigafactory.
Part of the battery cost improvements will come from plain economies of scale. Part of the savings will come from vertical integration and sourcing chemicals from local sources. Tesla is also looking to lower costs by using a larger battery form factor in the Model Three, and even potentially a fresh chemistry.
It’s unlikely that Tesla has achieved these cost savings in the as-yet-unfinished, still low-volume factory. Initial battery production at the Gigafactory began just six months ago in conjunction with Panasonic. Those batteries were mostly for Tesla’s grid projects.
At the Friday event, Tesla was unusually reticent about the battery specs for the Model Trio. At the current juncture, the company seems only to want to talk about range in very general terms.
But albeit the Gigafactory is still a work in progress, Tesla is at the forefront of lithium-ion battery improvements. The company recently claimed a thirty five percent cost reduction at the Gigafactory, even at limited production volumes.
GTM Research and Wood Mackenzie predict that lithium-ion battery costs will fall by around sixty five percent inbetween two thousand sixteen and 2030.
By the middle of the next decade, electrical cars are likely to be cheaper than gasoline cars in the U.S. and Europe. (This is the reason why so many analysts are revising their electrical car sales projections upward.)
Tesla’s Model three is priced at $35,000 before incentives. That’s good for early buyers. However, Tesla will lose its eligibility for the federal tax credit after it supplies 200,000 cars. It will hit that number fairly quickly.
State incentives could play a strong role in reducing the sticker price, but that will only help customers in states with aggressive subsidies such as California.
As Bloomberg points out, Tesla’s standard and long-range batteries for the Model three have already made big strides. The long-range Model three has the cheapest price per mile of range of any electrified car out there.
Tesla will likely proceed to lead in battery spectacle and cost improvements. But it’s still at the beginning of a long road to true mass-market affordability.
