Tesla Model 3: everything that is now known about this model of electric car

Next year, Tesla Motors is due to introduce the Model 3, an electric vehicle that has been under discussion for a long time. This is the most affordable model, which received more than 300 thousand pre-orders in April of this year. Now this number has increased to 400 thousand. And this is despite the fact that when making a pre-order, the buyer leaves a deposit of $ 1000.

Ship Model 3 customers will begin no earlier than at the end of 2017. What is already known about the electric car that buyers will get?

Design and construction

The main thing that stands out is the new design. Yes, the electric car is built on the Model S platform, but most of the elements are built from scratch. New power supply architecture, new type of electric motor, case design, etc. Development started a few years ago, and ended only in the spring of this year. Moreover, some work to improve the electric car is still underway.
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The company's engineers have done everything to reduce wind resistance to a minimum. The Tesla Model 3 has a very low drag coefficient - just 0.21. The minimum possible value of this coefficient is important for electric vehicles, because it allows to increase the efficiency of electric motors.

Model 3 will be shorter and already Model S, the size of the new product is comparable to the BMW 3 Series. The body will be made not only of aluminum, as is the case with the Model S and Model X, steel elements are added.

Earlier, Ilon Musk said that the preliminary version of the Model 3 raised many questions about the small opening of the trunk. To solve this problem, it was decided to modify the design. Some media also talk about the possibility of the appearance of a model with a transparent roof. Glass of such a roof is made of several layers.

For an additional price you can get air suspension.

The car's interior resembles the Model S's interior, while the seats are modified, plus the dimensions of the touch screen are reduced from 17 to 15 inches. The management functions of the car is made using this "electronic assistant". Its interface has changed somewhat, most of the space is occupied by the navigation and multimedia system management tools. The screen is mounted horizontally, in landscape orientation.



The presentation showed a version of the car, where there was no ordinary dashboard at all - all information is displayed on a central monitor. So far it is unclear whether this feature of the structure will be preserved. The developers have tried to give the control system a futuristic look, so that the owner feels like a pilot of a spacecraft, and not a land vehicle. And it seems like the company has many surprises in its sleeve in this regard.



The cabin can accommodate five adults. The front row of seats slightly shifted forward, and the rear sofa pushed to the stern. Thanks to this, and high roof, according to Tesla, passengers will feel comfortable in any complete set of cars.

Technical characteristics of Tesla Model 3

Two versions of the electric car will be available - both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Surcharge for all-wheel drive will be about $ 5000. On one charge, the car will be able to drive about 350 kilometers. Perhaps, by the start of production, this show will even be improved. Acceleration time to 100 km / h is 6 seconds. The basic version of the electric car gets and Autopilot, and the function of fast charging. If desired, you can get an improved version of the electric car, which accelerates to 100 km / h in just 4.5 seconds.

In order for the owners of electric cars to feel confident on the road, it is planned to increase the number of charging stations Supercharger. Now there are about 3.6 thousand, in the near future there will be more than exactly two times. It was initially stated that access to such stations for owners of Model 3 will be free. But after a while, Musk said that, most likely, such charges would have to be paid for access to the network - once at the very beginning.

Autopilot 2.0

Tesla will soon introduce a new version of its virtual driver assistant. This version will be part of the Tesla Model 3. In
Autopilot 2.0 updated not only software, but also hardware. Due to this, according to some data , drivers of Tesla electric vehicles still get a fully autonomous mode of driving. Now Autopilot does not provide autonomous driving, its task is to make traffic on the road safer.

Ilon Musk has already said that the Autopilot 2.0 can "see" everything around, in the most difficult weather conditions - in fog, snowfall, rain or dust pollution of the air. The software platform has already been updated in accordance with the modified equipment. The system will be able to recognize and respond to various signs and traffic lights. Now Autopilot is not capable of this.

As mentioned above, Autopilot will be free for owners of Tesla Model 3, but now you have to activate the autonomous driving mode for money. Approximate cost - $ 2500.

So when can I buy?

Electric vehicles will first be shipped to those customers who have pre-ordered. This will happen no earlier than 2017, if Tesla will not change anything in their plans. Since there is a lot of orders, the delivery of electric vehicles can be extended until 2018. At first, customers who already have a Model S or Model X will receive their new electric cars. Then delivery will be made for buyers from the USA. And only then Tesla Model 3 will go to other countries.



The average cost of an electric car with all the popular options will be at least $ 42,000.

Now the factories of the company do not even have time to cope with orders for the Tesla Model X, which are not so many, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Tesla Model 3.

In order to solve the problem, the company set a goal - to increase production to 500,000 electric vehicles by 2018. Earlier, a similar goal was set, only the date was different - 2020. It is clear that in order to achieve this goal, a lot of work will have to be done - for everyone, the management, and ordinary employees. Ilon Musk was so carried away by the process that, in his own words, he even sleeps in a factory.

He and his team plan to become the best car makers in the world. The team plans to recruit employees, and in the near future dozens (and maybe hundreds) of new vacancies will be opened.

Mask usually does not throw words to the wind, although he may be mistaken. Now the head of Tesla Motors says that the plans will be fulfilled anyway. Likely to happen.