PA/TeslaTesla has finally rolled out a $35,000 version of its Model 3 in the United States.
As well as the release of a more affordable car, the company is also shifting sales of its cars to online-only. This means that the company is set to announce job losses in some of the stores where it sells the cars.
The new versions of the Model 3 will also be available to purchase in Europe and China in the next three to six months. Tesla have created multiple versions of their popular Model 3 with different ranges of how far the car can travel on a single charge.
The $35,000 model has a “standard range”, so it can travel around 220 miles on a single charge. You can see a full list of the specifications and prices in the tweet below.
Model 3s now available
Standard Range: 220mi, $35k
Standard Range Plus: 240mi, $37k
Mid Range: 264mi, $40k
Long Range: 325mi, $43k
Long Range AWD: 310mi, $47k
Performance AWD: 310mi, $58k, 0-60 mph in 3.2s!
https://t.co/RNnGdonjSr(prices before incentives)
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 1, 2019
The base model has a top speed of 130mph and does 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds. Depending on how much you’re prepared to spend, the Performance AWD model can do 0-60mph in just 3.2 seconds and has a range of 310 miles on a single charge. For that model, it will cost you $58,000.
When it was first revealed in 2016, the Model 3 was always supposed to be worth $35,000. According to The Verge, Tesla needed to make higher-priced models of the car until it was in production. These versions were able to help Tesla make quarterly profits for the first time in two years.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the Model 3 price won’t be lowered any less:
It’s excruciatingly difficult to make this car for $35,000.
The manufacturer are putting most of their resources into making cars for Europe and China. The Model 3 has been so popular that meeting demand for the car had been tricky in 2018. Now that the company is regularly rolling out 5,000 of its Model 3s a week, as noted by Electrek last year, European customers are getting priorities for deliveries of the car.
To help lower the price of the Model 3, the firm is planning to close showrooms and is switching to an online-only sales model. They say losing physical stores will enable Tesla to cut costs of its popular cars by 6 per cent.
Tesla currently has 378 stores and service locations worldwide, but Musk has not confirmed just how many stores will be closing. Job losses are expected to follow after the announcement of the stores closing.
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Matt Weston is a lover of electric cars, artificial intelligence and space. From Cornwall, he’s a UCLan graduate that still dreams of being a Formula One driver in the very near future. Previously work includes reporting for regional newspapers and freelance video for the International Business Times.