I stopped by Tesla’s (TSLA) Fremont, California factory last week to test drive my new high performance Model X SUV and noticed something interesting.
There was major new construction under way in the customer delivery area.
That was to be expected, since the company has already announced that they plan to boost production of their sleek, ultra high tech Model-S sedan from 51,000 units this year to 93,000. It seems doable, since there is still a four-month waiting list to obtain a new vehicle.
However, something didn’t fit. They weren’t doubling the car delivery area. They were increasing it by TEN TIMES! Clearly, something much larger was afoot.
After chatting up the staff inside, I learned what was really going on. On Thursday, March 31, CEO and founder Elon Musk will unveil the next generation all electric Tesla 3 at the Hawthorne, California facility. The move promises to upend the global automobile industry.
The $35,000 four-passenger car will get a 200 mile range and require almost no maintenance for its entire life. The batteries will offer an eight-year minimum guarantee.
The vehicles can be recharged by plugging in at home, with 90% discounts for charges between 12:00 and 7:00 AM (in California). At that rate, your fuel cost works out to the equivalent of 4 cents per gallon. They can also be juiced up for free in 30 minutes at Tesla’s 200-station national supercharger network (see map below).
The cars will be fully equipped with self driving technology, although the system has yet to be fully activated pending regulatory and insurance issues. The first vehicles will be delivered in 2017.
However, Elon has been late with every car he has delivered so far, so 2018 is more realistic. Customers don’t care. They would rather have delayed perfection than an early, buggy beta model.
Tesla will start accepting $1,000 deposits for the Model 3 online from April 1. The company expects to sell 10,000 on the first day.
