Tesla Motors will take on the compact executive market, directly challenging the BMW 3 series, with their next electric car: the Model 3.
The Tesla Model 3, CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk has confirmed, will be on sale in 2017 and prices will likely be around the £23,000 mark. This will make it the most affordable vehicle in Tesla’s range.
It will also be the smallest car on Californian-based company‘s roster, estimated to be around 20% smaller than the Model S.
Tesla say that they expect the Model 3 to have a realistic range of over 200 miles, and owners will be granted free life-time access to the Supercharger network, as with the Model S and upcoming Model X. The Tesla Supercharger network is set to cover the length and breadth of the UK by the end of 2015.
Rumors had leaked that Tesla’s next venture would be titled the Model E. In a recent interview with Auto Express, Mr Musk explained that this had to change due to a clash with Ford.
“We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E – I thought this is crazy, Ford’s trying to kill sex! So we’ll have to think of another name”
“The new model is going to be called Model 3, we’ll have three bars to represent it and it’ll be S III X!”
The new Model 3 is on track to be unveiled in 2016 in anticipation of it becoming available to purchase the year after. The electric car is predicted to be built on an all-new platform, rather than a cut-down version of the Model S and Model X. What’s more there is chance that the Model 3 will coincide with research and development plans in the UK, which Musk recently revealed on a recent trip here.
There is also good news for Tesla Roadster owners. Tesla plan to increase the range in the Roadster from an already impressive 245 miles to around 400 miles with a battery upgrade.
“The Roadster had an old generation battery,” Musk told Auto Express. “We’ll upgrade it to a new generation battery pack and it should have a range of about 400 miles, which will allow you to drive from LA to San Francisco non-stop.”
Auto Express
