Mashable

Why Tesla’s Model three will be the most significant electrified car of our time

Will we recall this moment? The month, the day, the hour Tesla CEO Elon Musk embarked shipping Tesla Model three to the very first of a reported 373,000 customers and, perhaps, switched the course of electrical vehicles forever?

“I don’t think there’s any question that this is their most significant launch,” said electrified vehicle pioneer and consultant Chelsea Sexton.

Sexton, who was part of GM’s ill-fated EV1 team and has worked in and around the electrical vehicle (EV) industry for twenty years and admits to having “layers and layers of EV experience” agrees, like most people I spoke to, that Tesla is no ordinary car company. With its aspirational and coveted products and iconic (and somewhat irascible) leader, it’s the “Apple” of the automotive industry.

“They are like Apple in the sense that they have disrupted the auto industry and coerced them swifter to stir to electronic vehicles,” said Tim Bajarian, a tech industry analyst, who possesses the consulting stiff Creative Strategies.

When Musk and Tesla commence delivering Tesla Model 3’s to pre-order customers later this month, it will mark a turning point for the company. While the fresh 4-door sedan looks like the luxury sedan Model S, it represents a departure and a clear effort to stir down market.

While the Tesla Model S starts at around $72,000 and, with upgrade packages that include the Ludicrous speed boost, a fatter battery for a range of more than three hundred miles, and autonomous driving features, most Model S EVs sell for $100,000 or more.

Two out of the three Tesla’s I wrote about in a special series on Tesla Model S drivers, sold for north of $110,00.

The Tesla Model three starts at $35,000 and could cost consumers less than $30,000 after tax incentives of up to $7,500.

For that mass-market price, Model three buyers accept a more limited driving range of two hundred fifteen miles per charge and 0-to-60 mph in six seconds, as opposed to the body-jolting Three.1 seconds. (Support for autopilot hardware, fast-charging super charging stations, 5-star safety features and seating for five are still included).

It’s unlikely Model three customers will notice these puny deficits. It’s most likely significant they don’t.

Fresh EV customers

“This is Tesla’s very first and potentially last chance to take them out of the purely luxury- and rich person car segment.” said Sexton who knows Musk and has consulted for Tesla (her hubby worked for Tesla for five years) and virtually every other automotive manufacturer on EV technologies.

Musk’s Model Three, however, comes in a crowded field.

There are at least six similarly priced EV vehicles from Ford (Concentrate Electrical), GM (Chevy Bolt EV), Kia Soul EV), BMW (i3), Mercedes (B-Class), and Nissan (Leaf).

Few match the Model 3’s range, but some come close. In fact, the more I looked at the current mid-range EV field, the more I wondered why Tesla’s Model three would mark a substantial EV market shift.

These cars all look good and are utter featured. It’s true none could match the Model 3’s autonomous driving capabilities, but these are otherwise excellent EV choices.

“The main thing challenging the EV market at the moment is lack of product,” Sexton told me. She explained that, even with an EV car from virtually every major car company, they are exceptionally limited in price range, spectacle and, especially, style options. It’s simply not how people are used to buying cars.

‘This is Tesla’s very first and potentially last chance to take them out of the purely luxury- and rich person car segment.’

The other issue, and it may be the thickest one, is availability. Some of these EV cars, like the Kia Soul EV, are only sold in California. According to a two thousand fifteen examine, California presently accounts for 40% of the EV market.

Why California? It’s one of the few states that has an active mandate to put zero-emissions cars on the road, 1.Five million by 2025. By 2018, ten states could have similar rules on the books.

That doesn’t entirely explain why the limited EV options from major auto manufacturers sometimes feels like lip service.

What does, tho’, is CAFE or Corporate Average Fuel Economy. This Federal mandate requires an auto manufacturer’s fleet (encompassing all makes and models) has an average fuel economy of fifty five mpg by two thousand twenty five (President Donald Trump is seeking to roll back these standards). Having an all- electrified, long-range, zero-emissions car in the fleet instantaneously helps balance out trucks and SUVs.

“The vast majority [of these EVs] are ‘compliance cars,’” said Sexton. She contends that auto companies aren’t interested in selling these EVs at volume, just enough of them “to get the carbon credits they need.”

Tesla sells only electrical vehicles, so that’s clearly not part of its go-to-market strategy, and the Tesla Model three is being sold nationally, two factors that instantly set the Model three apart from the competition.

And, of course, there is that unquestionable cachet.

That certain something

Every single Elon Musk tweet is analyzed for its significance, especially as it relates to Tesla, current model capabilities and future options. His tweet of the very first production Model three rolling off the assembly line collected 42,113 retweets and 148,943 likes.

Tesla’s forums are utter of die-hard fans discussing the minutiae of the Model three and torturous over delivery dates. Most have already ordered and many are worried that they won’t see a car until two thousand eighteen (which is likely). The very first batch of 325,000 Model 3s won’t roll off the assembly line at once. It will take months to produce them all.

“I ordered the Model three the day they were available. As an existing Tesla possessor, I believe we are shoved to the front of the queue, but we’ll see how it all works out,” DragTimes Editor Brooks Weisblat told me via email.

Weisblat and I met a duo of years ago when he was racing Tesla Model S P85Ds. A longtime Tesla fan, he wondered why Tesla was waiting to release the car’s detailed specs, but is fine waiting to learn more until after the launch event later this month.

“I plan to drive the three for a while and determine to either keep it, or if I like my Model S better, I will mitt the Model three over to my Dad who presently drives a BMW i3,” he wrote.

Weisblat seemed comfy rolling with whatever punches Tesla supplies along the Model three production route, but Sexton believes the company may not be so fortunate as its more affordable EV opens the floodgates to a fresh kind of Tesla customer.

“[The Tesla Model Three] takes them out of that camp of people who are simply super fans to ones that will not tolerate things that have happened on latest products,” she said, pointing to latest quality issues with the Model X.

Even however Tesla’s hundreds of thousands of waiting Model three customers will want their cars now, Sexton counsels a slow and stable treatment for the company. “It would be best to go slow and make sure very first customers have a good practice with the product,” she told me.

Plus, if things go sideways for Tesla – quality issues, a scramble to recover, inconsistent delivery and dwindling revenue stream – it could rock the company. Tesla may be worth more than Ford and GM, but it most likely doesn’t have the cash cushion to sustain losses the way, say, a GM does with the low-selling Bolt.

The Tesla Model three is ‘an aspirational example of EVs’

There are, obviously, other risk factors that could sap the momentum out of Tesla’s drive to convert the EV industry. All those Model three cars are going to need a lot of fresh batteries. Musk built his own battery manufacturing plant in Nevada, the aptly-named Gigafactory, but it’s not at utter capacity. It began making Powerwall home batteries and only recently began producing batteries for the Model Trio. That should switch by 2018, when the Gigafactory expects to produce enough batteries to supply cells for at least a half a million EVs.

Sexton sees the economies of scale inherent in possessing your own battery factory, but has a concern.

“They need to make sure that plant remains nimble as fresh technologies come down the line,” she said and pointed to Nissan, which recently abandoned its own EV battery manufacturing facilities in favor or newer technology from LG.

What is more likely, tho’, is that, as the Model three does arrive in customers’ arms around the country, the EVs generate an intense feeling of FOMO for consumers and car enthusiasts.

Sexton noted that the Tesla Model three is “an aspirational example of EVs” and has a cache that the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt simply do not share.

If Tesla can keep up with request, the Model three will mark the end of its EV boutique existence. The car has the potential to create an iPhone-like hum in the auto market and industry. Its appearance on the road will excite other drivers and its entrance into the market should be cause for concern among other industry players.

“I do see the Tesla Model three being a tipping point that will make them more competitive,” Bajarin, the analyst, said, “especially in the mid-price range, but it will also serve as a way to get the major auto dealers to provide similar models and designs to stay competitive themselves.”

Why Tesla’s Model three will be the most significant electrified car of our time

Mashable

Why Tesla’s Model three will be the most significant electrified car of our time

Will we recall this moment? The month, the day, the hour Tesla CEO Elon Musk began shipping Tesla Model three to the very first of a reported 373,000 customers and, perhaps, switched the course of electrical vehicles forever?

“I don’t think there’s any question that this is their most significant launch,” said electrical vehicle pioneer and consultant Chelsea Sexton.

Sexton, who was part of GM’s ill-fated EV1 team and has worked in and around the electrical vehicle (EV) industry for twenty years and admits to having “layers and layers of EV experience” agrees, like most people I spoke to, that Tesla is no ordinary car company. With its aspirational and coveted products and iconic (and somewhat irascible) leader, it’s the “Apple” of the automotive industry.

“They are like Apple in the sense that they have disrupted the auto industry and coerced them quicker to stir to electronic vehicles,” said Tim Bajarian, a tech industry analyst, who possesses the consulting stiff Creative Strategies.

When Musk and Tesla begin delivering Tesla Model 3’s to pre-order customers later this month, it will mark a turning point for the company. While the fresh 4-door sedan looks like the luxury sedan Model S, it represents a departure and a clear effort to stir down market.

While the Tesla Model S starts at around $72,000 and, with upgrade packages that include the Ludicrous speed boost, a thicker battery for a range of more than three hundred miles, and autonomous driving features, most Model S EVs sell for $100,000 or more.

Two out of the three Tesla’s I wrote about in a special series on Tesla Model S drivers, sold for north of $110,00.

The Tesla Model three starts at $35,000 and could cost consumers less than $30,000 after tax incentives of up to $7,500.

For that mass-market price, Model three buyers accept a more limited driving range of two hundred fifteen miles per charge and 0-to-60 mph in six seconds, as opposed to the body-jolting Trio.1 seconds. (Support for autopilot hardware, fast-charging super charging stations, 5-star safety features and seating for five are still included).

It’s unlikely Model three customers will notice these puny deficits. It’s very likely significant they don’t.

Fresh EV customers

“This is Tesla’s very first and potentially last chance to take them out of the purely luxury- and rich person car segment.” said Sexton who knows Musk and has consulted for Tesla (her spouse worked for Tesla for five years) and virtually every other automotive manufacturer on EV technologies.

Musk’s Model Three, however, comes in a crowded field.

There are at least six similarly priced EV vehicles from Ford (Concentrate Electrical), GM (Chevy Bolt EV), Kia Soul EV), BMW (i3), Mercedes (B-Class), and Nissan (Leaf).

Few match the Model 3’s range, but some come close. In fact, the more I looked at the current mid-range EV field, the more I wondered why Tesla’s Model three would mark a substantial EV market shift.

These cars all look good and are total featured. It’s true none could match the Model 3’s autonomous driving capabilities, but these are otherwise excellent EV choices.

“The main thing challenging the EV market at the moment is lack of product,” Sexton told me. She explained that, even with an EV car from virtually every major car company, they are amazingly limited in price range, spectacle and, especially, style options. It’s simply not how people are used to buying cars.

‘This is Tesla’s very first and potentially last chance to take them out of the purely luxury- and rich person car segment.’

The other issue, and it may be the fattest one, is availability. Some of these EV cars, like the Kia Soul EV, are only sold in California. According to a two thousand fifteen explore, California presently accounts for 40% of the EV market.

Why California? It’s one of the few states that has an active mandate to put zero-emissions cars on the road, 1.Five million by 2025. By 2018, ten states could have similar rules on the books.

That doesn’t entirely explain why the limited EV options from major auto manufacturers sometimes feels like lip service.

What does, tho’, is CAFE or Corporate Average Fuel Economy. This Federal mandate requires an auto manufacturer’s fleet (encompassing all makes and models) has an average fuel economy of fifty five mpg by two thousand twenty five (President Donald Trump is seeking to roll back these standards). Having an all- electrical, long-range, zero-emissions car in the fleet instantly helps balance out trucks and SUVs.

“The vast majority [of these EVs] are ‘compliance cars,’” said Sexton. She contends that auto companies aren’t interested in selling these EVs at volume, just enough of them “to get the carbon credits they need.”

Tesla sells only electrified vehicles, so that’s clearly not part of its go-to-market strategy, and the Tesla Model three is being sold nationally, two factors that instantly set the Model three apart from the competition.

And, of course, there is that unquestionable cachet.

That certain something

Every single Elon Musk tweet is analyzed for its significance, especially as it relates to Tesla, current model capabilities and future options. His tweet of the very first production Model three rolling off the assembly line collected 42,113 retweets and 148,943 likes.

Tesla’s forums are utter of die-hard fans discussing the minutiae of the Model three and torturous over delivery dates. Most have already ordered and many are worried that they won’t see a car until two thousand eighteen (which is likely). The very first batch of 325,000 Model 3s won’t roll off the assembly line at once. It will take months to supply them all.

“I ordered the Model three the day they were available. As an existing Tesla possessor, I believe we are shoved to the front of the queue, but we’ll see how it all works out,” DragTimes Editor Brooks Weisblat told me via email.

Weisblat and I met a duo of years ago when he was racing Tesla Model S P85Ds. A longtime Tesla fan, he wondered why Tesla was waiting to release the car’s detailed specs, but is fine waiting to learn more until after the launch event later this month.

“I plan to drive the three for a while and determine to either keep it, or if I like my Model S better, I will forearm the Model three over to my Dad who presently drives a BMW i3,” he wrote.

Weisblat seemed convenient rolling with whatever punches Tesla produces along the Model three production route, but Sexton believes the company may not be so fortunate as its more affordable EV opens the floodgates to a fresh kind of Tesla customer.

“[The Tesla Model Three] takes them out of that camp of people who are simply super fans to ones that will not tolerate things that have happened on latest products,” she said, pointing to latest quality issues with the Model X.

Even however Tesla’s hundreds of thousands of waiting Model three customers will want their cars now, Sexton counsels a slow and stable treatment for the company. “It would be best to go slow and make sure very first customers have a good practice with the product,” she told me.

Plus, if things go sideways for Tesla – quality issues, a scramble to recover, inconsistent delivery and dwindling revenue stream – it could rock the company. Tesla may be worth more than Ford and GM, but it very likely doesn’t have the cash cushion to sustain losses the way, say, a GM does with the low-selling Bolt.

The Tesla Model three is ‘an aspirational example of EVs’

There are, obviously, other risk factors that could sap the momentum out of Tesla’s drive to convert the EV industry. All those Model three cars are going to need a lot of fresh batteries. Musk built his own battery manufacturing plant in Nevada, the aptly-named Gigafactory, but it’s not at total capacity. It commenced making Powerwall home batteries and only recently began producing batteries for the Model Trio. That should switch by 2018, when the Gigafactory expects to produce enough batteries to supply cells for at least a half a million EVs.

Sexton sees the economies of scale inherent in wielding your own battery factory, but has a concern.

“They need to make sure that plant remains supple as fresh technologies come down the line,” she said and pointed to Nissan, which recently abandoned its own EV battery manufacturing facilities in favor or newer technology from LG.

What is more likely, tho’, is that, as the Model three does arrive in customers’ arms around the country, the EVs generate an intense feeling of FOMO for consumers and car enthusiasts.

Sexton noted that the Tesla Model three is “an aspirational example of EVs” and has a cache that the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt simply do not share.

If Tesla can keep up with request, the Model three will mark the end of its EV boutique existence. The car has the potential to create an iPhone-like hum in the auto market and industry. Its appearance on the road will excite other drivers and its entrance into the market should be cause for concern among other industry players.

“I do see the Tesla Model three being a tipping point that will make them more competitive,” Bajarin, the analyst, said, “especially in the mid-price range, but it will also serve as a way to get the major auto dealers to provide similar models and designs to stay competitive themselves.”

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