Tesla Model 3 May Make Appearance Next Year

by Aaron Cole

Updated: December 31st, 2020 Published: July 26th, 2015

Despite the absence of a mule, prototype or anything that would resemble reality, Tesla’s Model 3 — or III, however you spell it — will make its debut at the Geneva auto show next year, AutoExpress is reporting.

The BMW 3 Series fighter would be the third model from Tesla, and perhaps the first built in a European factory. Representatives from Tesla said they would consider building the Model 3 on the European continent once the automaker started mass producing its three models.

The Model 3 would join the Model S and Model X in the automaker’s portfolio.

In an interview with AutoExpress, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Model 3 would be around 20 percent smaller than the Model S and would have a range over 200 miles.

Musk said the car would sell for around $35,000 and performance — from the car company that just announced “ludicrous speed” in the Model S — would be on par with the M3 or M4.

The Geneva auto show begins March 1, 2016.

#Geneva #Geneva2016 #Model3 #ModelS #Tesla

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18 of 27 comments

Stuki on Jul 26, 2015

I'm not sure if they'll ever get around to mass producing anything, but You've got to give them credit for sheer chutzpah. Riding their current "we're not only green, but fast, hip, cool, new-new, the future, and Appleis" cred directly into battle with what is probably the single most valuable model brand in all of autodom. The BMW 3 likely generates more uncontested profit from brand value alone than any other car, and now Tesla wants to show them up. Compared to vacuum-tubing between SF and NY, and blasting around Mars in a Tesla powered rover, Thinking (or at least dreaming) Big is where it's at over there.

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Redliner on Jul 26, 2015

The only way this car will cost 35k is after 20k of tax credits, fuel savings, good karma credits, clean conscience credits, and whatever other credit Tesla can think of to include in the price.

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- Healthy skeptic on Jul 26, 2015
  
  Probably all true, and for a stripped-out base model to boot. However, even if a more realistic price of 45-50k emerges for an optioned-out version you'd actually want to buy, if they can deliver the kind of car he's describing, it'd probably still be extremely competitive.
  
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- Clivesl on Jul 26, 2015
  
  Well, if it actually can compete with the M3/M4 then even at $50K it undercuts the 2015 M3 by over $10,000 at MSRP.
  
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- Healthy skeptic on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @clivesl I was thinking more along the lines of a 335/435. An M3 is a track machine designed to consistently run hot laps. Acceleration, braking, handling, top speed, high-performance durability...there's a lot more to an M3 than 0-60. But I'd be very happy with 335 equivalency for performance.
  
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- Clivesl on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @healthy skeptic Yeah, regardless of which 3 series you comparing it to, $50K MSRP makes it stupidly competitive. And let's not forget, this will be the look at me I'm not a slave to BMW choice amongst urban professionals.
  
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- TrailerTrash on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @healthy skeptic and I think the M can drive farther than 200 miles.
  
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- Mcs on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @TrailerTrash >> and I think the M can drive farther than 200 miles. So can the Model 3. You just have to stop at a SuperCharger to charge it after a couple of hours of driving. My bladder doesn't last that long and I need to stop anyway. You don't have to stand next to the vehicle pumping electrons into the car. Plug-in, take a bathroom break, have a snack, and check your email (my email sessions usually exceed the charge time!). It's not a terrible limitation for most people. Last week I was charging outside of Boston and there was a Model S from Toronto charging next to me. He made it without a problem.
  
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- Krhodes1 on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @TrailerTrash You mean the superchargers that don't exist in my state, which means more than 1/2 of the state is not reachable with a 200 mile range? If you can't drive 200 miles without stopping to pee, you probably should see a urologist. When I head south from Maine, my first stop is usually in New Jersey. And that is for about 5 minutes, not 30+.
  
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- Mcs on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @TrailerTrash Plenty of Chademo stations in Maine that can be used by a Tesla with an adaptor. Two in Portland, one in Topsham, one in Auburn, and another in Bangor. I don't have much trouble in a 100 mile range Leaf. It's first trip was Boston to Brunswick. A Model 3 won't be a problem - especially in the time frame that we'll see the Model 3. Went the urologist route. After a lot of expense they discovered that I simply had a small bladder. Can't do anything about it.
  
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- Healthy skeptic on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @TrailerTrash >> and I think the M can drive farther than 200 miles. And I don't care. 200 miles is plenty for me. Your wants and needs might be different from mine, which is fine.
  
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- Krhodes1 on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @TrailerTrash A chademo charger is going to make for a very long lunch with a Tesla. And if you top up in Bangor, you MIGHT make Ft. Kent. Then you are going to have a really long wait before you can get home again. Electric commuter mobiles like the Leaf make a lot of sense. Electric luxury cars are silly. They can't do the thing that you would actually WANT a luxury car to do - be a nice place to be on a long drive. Spending $50K plus to save a few bucks on gas while taking on a bunch of inconvenience is beyond silly. I find it highly amusing that on a number of occasions, my buddy with who used to have a Leaf and now has a Tesla would call me up to come get him at the Nissan dealer because they had a wait for their charger, and he can't get home from Portland without topping off. I have too much to do to plan my life around the limitations of refueling my car. If you are going to do that, why not go all the way and just use public transportation? The bus is just as fast as a Leaf Brunswick to Boston and you get pretzels, a bottle of water, and a movie on the bus. Free wifi too! I get it, as a second car or a commuter an electric can make sense. But that makes them a niche market, not the second coming that you evangelists think they are.
  
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- Kyree on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @healthy skeptic That's true...although to be fair, if Tesla is looking at competing in the mainstream luxury car arena, it needs to make sure that buyer satisfaction and customer service are tops. Counterintuitive as it is, the more mainstream a car is, the less people are willing to put up with (I guess it's because there are more competitors at lower price points, and people know they can take their business elsewhere). But it's true, in my experience. Someone with a six-figure sedan---and one that he/she probably does not depend on each day---is probably going to be a lot more lax about service and loaner cars and such than someone daily-driving a $50K luxury car. And the hillbilly driving the $30K Silverado LT Double Cab with an 8" lift will slit your throat if you mess up his oil change.
  
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- Kyree on Jul 26, 2015
  
  @clivesl Well, especially since $50K will get you a sparsely-equipped 335i or 435i.
  
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- Mcs on Jul 27, 2015
  
  @TrailerTrash >> A chademo charger is going to make for a very long lunch with a Tesla. I've read reviews that say a CHAdeMO charger adds 130+ miles per hour range to a Tesla. So, that takes a Model 3 from totally empty to full in an hour and a half. Most of the time you'd be fine with an hour charge. I bumped into couple in a Model S at a CHAdeMO station outside of a distillery in Vermont. They only needed a 30 minute charge to get to the Hookset NH SuperCharger. >> my buddy with who used to have a Leaf and now has a Tesla would call me up to come get him at the Nissan dealer because they had a wait for their charger, and he can’t get home from Portland without topping off. Why was he charging at the dealer? The dealer in Portland has a level 2. The CHAdeMO chargers are at the Fore St. Garage and South Portland Rec Center and are much faster. >> The bus is just as fast as a Leaf Brunswick to Boston and you get pretzels, a bottle of water, and a movie on the bus. Free wifi too! Not when you're making stops along the way - like Portsmouth for dinner. What you save on bus fare will pay for dinner easily. Usually have my bike as well and I'm not trusting that on a bus. Free water and prezels? The Nissan dealer in Newport RI gave the dog and me each a free bottle of water while I quick charged last weekend. Free WiFi too. Actually, I usually go to Vermont and not Maine. A 200 mile range EV gets me to the house there non-stop so I can stick to home charging at both places. I have 50 amp L2 EVSE so I can charge a Tesla in a reasonable amount of time. >> Spending $50K plus to save a few bucks on gas while taking on a bunch of inconvenience is beyond silly. I really don't think gas price savings is driving EV sales. For me, it's a much nicer way to power a car than the crappy fours a they stick under the hoods of cars these days. I like the quiet, smoothness, torque, and even the sound of electric motors. Was next to a 2.0 liter Cadillac earlier this evening. It sounded like crap. A bunch of inconvenience? An EV is actually more convenient than a gasser. How many times did you stand outside your car freezing while you pumped gas last winter? My car was fueled overnight in a nice warm garage. It's like owning a perpetually fueled vehicle and you never have to bother finding a gas station. With a Model 3, you're also gaining 0-60 in 3 seconds acceleration and more importantly autopilot features that will make the Boston Area perpetual Route 128/I-95 traffic jam much more palatable. That's not worth $50k?
  
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SCE to AUX on Jul 26, 2015

The Model 3 will be Tesla's fourth vehicle, not their third. The Model X will be in customers' hands by the time we get our first glimpse of the Model 3.

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- Corey Lewis on Jul 27, 2015
  
  I think probably they should make the Model X actually MATERIALIZE before they work on promising another car. So far it's been mostly vaporware up in here.
  
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Wmba on Jul 26, 2015

The usual Musk horse manure. We'll make 'em in Europe too!!!! Just buy a lot of them first, oh and btw, we haven't made any yet and will miss all deadlines for introduction anyway. A load of rubbish from beginning to end. But that's just an opinion on what I consider is near enough a con job. I've read a number of fawning long interviews with Musk. Hasn't changed my mind, it's just a variation on "Gotta keep the stock price up somehow."

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