Topic: TESLA Model III

[Noto]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn85XqL3BoI

[EV Dan]

I'm not sure if it was posted in any other thread, but this is so far the most thorough and detailed speculation on what the Model 3 will be like:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3258855-will-teslas-model-3-compete

[bye]

Friend who owns a Porsche said he's waiting for Model 3 to get a Tesla, makes sense, the Model S is a large car, though for my family, that was one of the compelling reasons to get it, to fit all the stuff we pack into our vehicles for our weekly road trips across Ontario's winter playground.

[EV Dan]

http://insideevs.com/tesla-ceo-model-3-pre-orders-debut-march-35k-pricing-confirmed/



.. just gonna go find a cash machine 

[wing]

For real $35k?  Or similar to the S pricing

$75k*



* after $10,000 estimated gas savings, $8,500 gov rebate

[bye]

Elon Musk is quoted as saying $35k USD before rebates.   

I'm betting that when the reservations open on Tesla.com in spring 2016, there will be 100,000 within days...

[Ex-airbalancer]

For real $35k?  Or similar to the S pricing

$75k*



* after $10,000 estimated gas savings, $8,500 gov rebate

that's 35k USD.  i'll believe it when i see it.  this is the make or break for elon.  he's going to milk this every month to  keep investors occupied while he issues a whole bunch of new shares.   i'd say if he ever makes this happen it will be a stripper, with no a/c, no stereo, roll up windows, 14" rims, and hemp seat covers.  upgrades will take it to 60k.

boy,  the way tesla includes that whole 10k $250 gas in Ontario savings & govt rebate in their pricing really annoys me.

I fix it for you, I  inserted Ontario price savings 

[Guy]

Elon Musk is quoted as saying $35k USD before rebates.   

I'm betting that when the reservations open on Tesla.com in spring 2016, there will be 100,000 within days...

I wont bet against you..

[Guy]

For real $35k?  Or similar to the S pricing

$75k*



* after $10,000 estimated gas savings, $8,500 gov rebate

that's 35k USD.  i'll believe it when i see it.  i'd say if he ever makes this happen it will be a stripper, with no a/c, no stereo, roll up windows, 14" rims, and hemp seat covers.  upgrades will take it to 60k.

Wow, exact description of the typical FGC price list...

[EV Dan]

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/11/17/tesla-model-3-leaks-small-ones-cleantechnica-exclusive/

Tesla Model 3 Leaks… Small Ones (CleanTechnica Exclusive)

November 17th, 2015 by Zachary Shahan

One of our readers, Daniel Hoffmann, was recently sitting in his hotel lobby waiting to check in when he overheard someone next to him talking on the phone… and then booking tickets on behalf of Tesla Motors. Eager to take advantage of the opportunity, Daniel found out that the guy was lead exterior designer of Tesla cars — seems to be Bernard Lee. (Wow — not a bad fellow to talk to.)

Digging further, Daniel asked, “you know how the Tesla Model 3 looks like, right?” That apparently generated a light laugh. That might have been the end of the conversation for a mere mortal, but this was a CleanTechnica reader.

Despite not being willing to chat much (understandably), the Tesla designer did tell our reader that the Model 3 will be amazing and it will have a very special design. Hmm… very special, eh?

Here’s more from Daniel:

I also asked him if it will be a shrunken Model S, and he said it will be similar, BUT it will have very special design. I also asked if there will be any delay, and he said very firmly “no”. I also asked if the March showcasing is on, and it is (he was surprised I knew the month). Unfortunately he seemed very busy, so I couldn’t annoy him any longer. But it seems that they are not trying to make a cheap design for their “cheap” model. I’m really happy about that, because if I wouldn’t buy a Model S, then the Model 3 is an obvious choice.

Indeed.

It's not saying much regarding the Model 3 design, but it's good to know that only in a few months we will find out what the "affordable" electric dream car will look like 

[Noto]

if this model is small like the i3 it will be useless for most NAs, including myself.  the bolt seems to have gone down that path.

Why do you say that?

[Noto]

There's been no suggestion of the Model III's size...

all we know is that Musk named it the Model III (not "3") because it slots between Models S and X, to spell a lineup of S III X.

Nothing about sex is supposed to be small, and on that basis, we can correctly, without a doubt, assume that the Model III will be big enough for a family.

Logic never fails.

[EV Dan]

There's been no suggestion of the Model III's size...

all we know is that Musk named it the Model III (not "3") because it slots between Models S and X, to spell a lineup of S III X.

Nothing about sex is supposed to be small, and on that basis, we can correctly, without a doubt, assume that the Model III will be big enough for a family.

Logic never fails.

IIRC no other than Musk has in fact told us a while ago that the Model E (now Model III) will be "about 20% smaller" than the Model S. It's probably in this thread somewhere. So I think it will be close to E-class in size, a bit smaller perhaps.

[EV Dan]

Musk wants the Model III to have an under 0.20 drag coefficient 

http://teslamondo.com/2015/11/18/model-iii-might-drag-us-all-into-a-new-conversation/

Tesla tends to kill all in a drag race. YouTube videos abound. Well, now it might dominate the other kind of drag race, as in drag coefficient. It’s a big factor in fuel economy and electric range.

But it’s unglamorous. Aerodynamics usually bores everyone except automotive engineers. Leave it to Tesla to make it an exciting topic among laymen and force other automakers to stop chickening out and start building super-slippery cars, even if the styling startles at first. Model III might do exactly that. If todays’ rumors have a foot in reality:

    Musk wants the III to slip under 0.20, besting the 0.24 of the S and X, and making it the slickest production car on earth. It would likely require a radical design, something normally relegated to an outlandish concept tucked behind the ropes at a car show.
    The Model III will indeed have a “special design,” says another bit of hearsay.

Don’t forget, Elon did say Model III won’t look like other cars. Seems we might be in for a shocker next spring. Those nutty concept cars that nobody actually builds, Tesla might build, despite TeslaMondo’s view that the fledgling EV market requires restraint and disallows crazy designs.

Winning this “drag race” would grant Tesla some mighty-impressive bragging rights during the III unveiling. Impressive to geeks, that is. But, you see, Tesla is making geeks of us all.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The GM EV1 had a drag coefficient of 0.19, for some perspective.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1#Configuration

[EV Dan]

I see your EV1 there and present you the Schlörwagen 

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/german-aerodynamic/

Hopefully Tesla designers are good enough to make the 3 look like a CAR.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I see your EV1 there and present you the Schlörwagen 

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/german-aerodynamic/

Hopefully Tesla designers are good enough to make the 3 look like a CAR.

That's very cool. Hadn't seen that one before.

I hope the emphasis on aerodynamics brings back wheel spats! 

[Noto]

[EV Dan]

http://insideevs.com/tesla-model-3-rumors-from-insider-unveiling-invites-sent-out/

Fabric seats to save costs and size of Audi A4 (rumoured)

I'm fine with either and hope cost cutting won't make it a FWD... 

And he said the following:

-Model 3 looks very similar to Model S, just smaller and without luxury features like leather seats
-Cost saving is due to Gigafactory, smaller battery and economy features
-Possible release of smaller, stripped down Model X at same time (not sure if name is Model Y)

We'll see if this is true next month!

[X-Traction]

http://insideevs.com/tesla-model-3-rumors-from-insider-unveiling-invites-sent-out/

Fabric seats to save costs and size of Audi A4 (rumoured)

I'm fine with either and hope cost cutting won't make it a FWD... 

Good point.  Perhaps there's little reason for 2wd ev's to be fwd instead of rwd.  Given that with few exceptions mass-produced cars with rear/mid engines don't make sense for most buyers, it's been almost universal to put the engine in the front.  To make a front-engined car rwd requires the weight of a driveshaft plus the resulting compromised interior space.  EV batteries usually are center or rear-mounted, and use cables instead of a driveshaft.  So other than the relatively small mass and volume of the electric motor being at the back axle instead of the front, a 2wd EV makes as much sense to be rwd as fwd.