Tesla reveals Model 3; Orders huge

Tesla revealed its ‘mass-market’ Model 3 Friday, with orders since beating expectations.

As of Sunday 232,000 had been ‘reserved’ online – Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeting reactions over the weekend.

The announcement was foreshadowed in New Zealand by the bigger news, again from Musk’s twitter account, that the car would be sold here. Read that story HERE

on EVTalk.co.nz.At the announcement in California, Musk claimed the car will do 345Km on a single charge, will cost – in the USA – $56,600 NZD, and that he was ‘reasonably confident’ deliveries will begin late next year.

“You will not be able to buy a better car for $35,000, even with no options,” Musk boldly claimed.

Other details include a base-model zero-100 sprint time of 6 seconds, standard Supercharger support, rear and all-wheel-drive options, and no dashboard, all details handled by a single 15-inch landscape touchscreen.

Tesla’s Autopilot ‘hardware’ will be fitted as standard.

The sedan, although the car has a slight hatch profile, will ‘seat five adults comfortably’, using space efficient elements such as pushing the dash and front seats forward, all under a full-length single-piece curved glass roof which increase headroom and a feeling of space.

There will be ‘trunks’ – boots – front and rear, and the ability to carry a seven-foot long surfboard inside.

Watch the full reveal below.