No Grille? No Problem! Tesla Unveils Landmark Model 3 Sedan

Tesla Motors recently unveiled their long-awaited Model 3. Tesla has a garnered a huge following with their Roadster, Model S and Model X vehicles. But while popular, these cars are incredibly pricey. Enter the Model 3, which was designed as Tesla's entry-level electric car. The demand is there. But can the Model 3 live up to the hype? 

 

The Model 3 is definitely more cost effective, coming in with a base price of $35,000: it's definitely cheaper than it's sister cars. A fully- loaded Model S tops out around $150,000.

 

The slowest base model Model 3 is expected to go from 0-60 mph in under six seconds. It is also projected to go "at least"  215 miles on a single charge, but Tesla expects it to go much further. All base models will also come standard with typically optional autopilot safety features. 

 

The car can seat up to five people "comfortably" and front legroom has been maximized by pushing the dashboard and firewall as far forward as possible. Tesla has also eliminated the traditional gauges and dials one usually finds on their console, replacing them with one, centralized flat screen display. To quell fears of "range anxiety", the Model 3 will also be able to access Tesla's international Supercharger network and destination charging stations as standard.

 

Tesla has been taking pre-orders since the car was unveiled on March 31, with lines outside of Tesla stores that rival those seen after the last iPhone release. As of April 7, there have been 325,000 orders for the Model 3. This will be a watershed moment, not only for Tesla, but for the electric car as a concept.

 

Deliveries are expected to possibly begin late next year, and it will be very interesting to see what the public has to say when their reviews come in.