When Elon Musk first announced the Model 3, the crowd (and the world) went crazy when the US$35,000 price tag was unveiled. That price point is one that is accessible to a lot of people, but until today it wasn’t available, now it is.
The Model 3’s that have been sold to date have been US$40,000 or higher depending on options, so while it took a couple of years of production efficiencies, Tesla has now delivered.
Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected. Over the next few months, we will be winding down many of our stores, with a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers. The important thing for customers in the United States to understand is that, with online sales, anyone in any state can quickly and easily buy a Tesla.
In Australia, the price tag is still not available, however Musk has said it’ll essentially be a translation of US to AUD (plus taxes). If the Model 3 was shipping today (expected mid-year) then the US$35,000 would translate to A$49,299.22 before tax.
Once we add 10% GST to that, it becomes A$54,229.175 as a starting point, while the Performance model is expected to be close to the A$100,000 mark.
So given the cheaper Model 3, it raises the question of what do you miss out on if you choose the entry-level option.
You still get with 354km of range, a top speed of 130 mph and 0-100km/hr acceleration in 5.6 seconds.
What you don’t get is premium interior, so that’s cloth seats instead of leather, you don’t get Autopilot, which I don’t understand why you’d buy a Tesla without it. You also don’t get premium wheels or paint. These options are all upgrade possibilities in the configurator (not yet launched in Aus).
So today this is an important milestone because more people can buy a car at this number, but I suspect not many absolutely stock models roll off the production line.
More information at Tesla.
