Tesla Model 3 teaser
Telsa will officially debut its much-hyped Model 3 March 31 at an event in California.
Some guests at the event, which will mostly be comprised of current owners, will get a chance to drive the car.
The Model 3 is slated to be the democratic Tesla. It will start $35,000 in the U.S., making it less than half the cost of the Model S. And that $35,000 is before any government rebates. The Canadian price has yet to be announced, but it will come with an incentive in Ontario of at least $8,500.
"(It) is a car that is aimed at the mass market," Matt Schulwitz, with Tesla Motors, told Globe Drive last month at the Toronto auto show. "That's really the car that will make Tesla the brand it will be."
The Model 3 will come with a promised range of 320 kilometres, be about the size of an Audi A4 and eventually come in crossover variant. Tesla hopes to sell 500,000 vehicles a year by 2020. That's a tall order for a company struggling with production problems as it aims to make 50,000 Model S cars a year.
"We plan on making it ultra compelling, not only as good as a gasoline equivalent, but far better," said Schulwitz. "I think this will really open the marketplace for people who may have never considered an electric car in the past."
The Model 3 will likely compete against the new Chevrolet Bolt, which will have the same range and arrive at the end of 2016. GM says the Bolt will have a starting price, after government tax credits, of $30,000.
The big question won't be if the Model 3 will be a cool car, it is can the Model 3 turn Tesla into a large-scale money-making car company? Currently, Tesla loses more than $4,000 on every Model S it sells.