Doesn't the 3 have an entirely different motor? Not the induction motor that the S uses and that Tesla was so bullish about?

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/6z6szd/the_new_model_3_motor_its_history_and_what_it_is/

If you get the S, you won't need a "weekend car" lol.

If you want to be the cool kid on the block with a Tesla before everyone has one get the S now. Maybe go used?
If you don't mind being "just another model 3" in a year or 2, then order and wait.

Sounds to me like you want the S sooner rather than later.

I was in this boat and decided to pick up a CPO P85+ instead of waiting. It's extremely impressive. Feels quicker than my modified Z06. Glad I bought the S

not much of a review but it seems the verdict was meh?

When the older and more expensive Tesla (TSLA)Model S first debuted, it was simply the best car you could buy at its admittedly high price -- gasoline or electric.
I can't say the same for the Model 3. It's a fun car to drive and it looks upscale, but I can think of cars I'd rather have for $56,000.

If Tesla could somehow bring back a few old-switches and knobs, I'd like this car much better. As it is, lots of people will buy the Model 3 and lots of them will love it. If I wanted to give someone their first taste of electric driving, though, it's not the car I'd put them in. Unless I really wanted to annoy them.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/11/technology/tesla-model-3-review/index.html

I was waiting for a Model 3 and got tired of waiting and got a Chevy Bolt. While it clearly isn’t a Tesla, it’s some of the most fun I’ve had in a car. It’s seriously a lot of car for the money and the range is exceptional.

saw the 3 at the showroom today. it is really sweet. Also talked to one of the sales girls, and she told me she had a customer that was 30something in line at the LA store on reservation day, and he will take delivery this week. Kicker.....he is no previous Tesla owner!!!! So they seem to be rolling out finally. My delivery estimator say January - March. I am thinking the Easter Bunny might come in style this year.

Oops somehow my quote didn't work.

I believe this to be one hundred percent true. Autonomous doesn't care about propulsion mechanism and is what manufacturers are shooting for first.

I have to add, my brother in law had a Model 3 deposit he decided to get ride of. Instead he decided why wait and get the car he really wanted, which is a Model S. He had a highly optioned 3 and decided to get a 75 instead. The best part was no wait, and he claims the cost between the two wasn't far off. I can't wait to get to his house and get a test drive.

Ford is bringing back the mach 1 mustang in 2020.. as an all electric
https://jalopnik.com/a-ford-mach-1-battery-electric-performance-car-is-comin-1822073131

Strange, it looks to be an SUV, not a Mustang. I really hope it's awesome, but I have my doubts. It's impossible to say.

But hey, by 2020 they will have had seven years since Tesla launched the Model S to make an absolutely amazing car. SUV. Whatever it turns out to be.

Did anyone see yesterday that Ford announced they are "all in" on electric? Now that they've let a silicon valley startup dominate the market and launch their car for the masses they're all in? Of course, "all in" for them is an 11 billion dollar investment over the next four years, and a mixed lineup of 40 electric and electric hybrids by 2022, less than half of which will be all electric. I coudln't tell if those models will be worldwide or just in the USA, but I'm guessing worldwide partly because China has a huge electric car incentive program, and partly because Ford only has 36 models in 2018 in the USA.

Also, I'm not at all confident that investing $2.75bn per year will get them to where they need to be in 2022 to compete with Tesla. Tesla went from producing 1,000 cars a year five years ago to over 100,000 cars last year.

Ford is feeling a /lot/ like Blockbuster trying to beat Netflix, Sears trying to beat Amazon, Kodak trying to beat Apple...

Tesla's already got gigafactories cranking out batteries, a worldwide charging network, and a reputation for making truly desirable electric cars. i'm not sure how Ford expects to catch up with Tesla by starting 7 years later and spending less.

also i wonder how much of that $2 billion a year is going to be directed towards lobbying efforts to keep Tesla from selling cars in Michigan and other various states.

I do wonder how solid state batteries are going to play out. Tesla has made the cheapest and most compact lithium-ion battery they could possibly make, but solid state (if manufactured for a reasonable cost which is a challenge) is far denser, and can charge to full capacity in about a minute. The following car companies have plans for solid state batteries:

BMW (they are partnering with a battery company)
Fisker (they developed their own, claiming production in 2023)
Honda (just researching, date unknown)
Hyundai (developing their own, date unknown)
NGK (spark plug company developing a ceramic SSB)
Nissan (just researching, date unknown)
Toyota (started in 2014, partnered with panasonic in 2017)

Samsung just released a solid state battery, so far they aren't saying which car company they are partnering up with
https://electrek.co/2018/01/15/samsung-sdi-new-batteries-electric-car-range-charging-capacity

So if panasonic is already developing a solid state battery, why would they partner with toyota? Did Tesla break ties since they are making their own lithium cells now?

Of all the above companies, Fisker is the only one with a claimed release date. They are also super low on money to create their cars and are looking to pump anything they can to try to get more backing. Unless they get absolutely *massive* investment, I can't see them leading the way on this.

Tesla will switch if it becomes viable, but the price and capacity of lithium-ion continues to fall rapidly. I expect we have a long way further to go before we hit a bottom on them, or before the tech is even mature.

Almost forgot! Next week I'll be in Los Angeles and am hoping to be able to drop by the Tesla dealership at Century City to check out the Model 3 in person so I can confirm it's for me. Can anyone who has been there in the past tell me how easy is parking and how far is it to get to the actual Tesla store? I have stupid limited time while I'm there, and I'm trying to figure out if I can fit it in and exactly how to do so...

park at the Gelsons underground structure. once you come up the escalator from there (within the mall) it is 50 feet away. But, on Monday mid day they had a 45 min wait in line time for you to be able to sit and look inside the car.

Unless something has changed, Panasonic put at least a billion into Gigafactory 1, so I think they're still partnered with Tesla.

More model 3 configuration invites went out today. I'm hoping they are about done with current owners so us new owners can get our orders in.

Dang in. I have stupid limited time in LA, and I really want to sit in it. I was thinking Sunday at about 2:45 is when I'd get there, that's probably an even worse time and I'm supposed to show up somewhere else an hour later that is a 15 or so minute drive away... Hmmmmmm....

I heard there are some new owners that have received their invites now! I hope so!

I've had good luck with the valet at Century City. Might save you some time...

I got my model 3 VIN yesterday. 43xx. It looks like production is up.

are you a current owner of a Tesla?

If only I could afford one

Only selling to owners right now.

Good to know. I'm thinking I might call Sunday before I get there and ask how long the line is, explain I'm from far away and my sitting in it can literally be fifteen seconds. I get if they can't do anything, but here's hoping.

Ford doesn't need to worry as long as they don't develop electric cars. Tesla may have 7 years head start on electric cars, but Ford has over a hundred in building cars. Tesla had the biggest obstacle in developing a chassis and all the other car stuff, which is the hardest part of it all except marketing. Tesla's used an existing chassis to make their first car, and then had to develop the rest. You look at a car and the motor is impressive, but you have all other aspects like how to make a door hinge, weather striping, seats, dashboard, rain gutters, etc. that will last. Ford has a huge advantage in those areas and how to evolve the development of a car. All Ford needs is to continue their car knowledge and continue to adapt a powertrain. Plus they have production scale that is difficult for young car startups like Tesla.

Perhaps Ford will buy batteries from Tesla. I believe Ford will be making cars longer than Tesla and Tesla will survive as a electronic car component supplier.

With all that GM is way ahead of Ford, and if they don't F it up their efforts will pay off.

Kodak doesn't need to worry as long as they don't develop digital cameras. Samsung may have 7 years head start on digital cameras, but Kodak has over a hundred in building cameras. Samsung had the biggest obstacle in developing a CCD and all the other camera stuff, which is the hardest part of it all except marketing. You look at a camera and the CCD is impressive, but you have all other aspects like how to make a lens, etc. that will last. Kodak has a huge advantage in those areas and how to evolve the development of a camera. All Kodak needs is to continue their camera knowledge and continue to adapt a CCD. Perhaps Kodak will buy CCDs from Samsung. I believe Kodak will be making cameras longer than Samsung and Samsung will survive as a digital camera supplier.

Fixed that for you.

i very very strongly disagree with this. right now, Tesla is the most desirable car brand in the world, and they dominate the demographics of both millennials and men.

source: https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-millennial-dream-car-infographic/

Tesla isn't going to stop making cars. quite the opposite, in fact.

LOL. thank you for this great read. Love it.

Yes; anyone who has a car configured at this point is a current owner or employee.

Replying to myself, called yesterday to ask how it worked, found out you only get a minute with the car so my 15 seconds thing isn't a short stop like I had been hoping that may be able to sneak in... and yesterday the line was an hour. I think I'll be stopping out today, but we'll see. It's kind of crazy to be willing to spend an hour waiting in line to sit in a car, especially when I have no time and it might set me back on other things, but... knowing me, I'll be in line for an hour today

Not being negative but the biggest people who love EV are those that want EV above all else. Most people are fine with ICE cars and may be forced to buy EV in future due to government involvement or are being coaxed to buy now due to tax credits. It’s yet to be seen if EV would be the mainstream vehicle of choice which is why the big manufacturers are dipping their toe in the water or may be slower to adopt EV than Tesla. Without EV Tesla has nothing. Ford sells millions of cars and trucks a year.

All Tesla has are EV it’s like Netflix suppose Disney wants to compete with Netflix they may be behind Netflix currently but they are only partly depending on streaming service whereas Netflix is all about streaming. Disney being Ford and Tesla being Netflix. Disney/Ford is doing fine currently they just want to eat away at Netflix/Tesla in the future.

I’m on the Porsche forums and the buyers there are underwhelmed about the Tesla roadster they don’t value 0-60 in 2 seconds as much as they value old fashioned sports car feel manual transmission they call it a analog feel as opposed to digital feel. One of the hottest cars ever is the 911 R which is a lightweight manual transmission loud natural aspirated engine. It’s not as fast as many turbo cars or EV but some people really love the old feeling and interacting with the machine more so than quite quick A-B car.

I like the EV idea mostly because it’s less maintance and I like the technology of Tesla infotainment plus the instant acceleration is neat but overall I’m kind of ambivalent to EV.

If the tax credit is phased out for Tesla they’ll need to lower prices or offer more content at same price I think the 3 will steal sales from S when they are both readily available IMO.

I’m debating not getting a 3 but just keep my place in line until I can get my spot and see how much rebate is left and see how I like driving it.

for one thing, a bunch of old porsche owners are not representative of the buying public. i think at this stage to question whether EVs are the future is completely silly and absurd. they absolutely are inevitably the future. almost anyone who has driven a Model S realizes that pretty quickly. it's not even a matter of regulation or the environment -- they're simply better machines, easier and more fun to drive for the average person in too many respects. (and guys who whine about missing manual transmission are not the average person).

I get the same experience driving my 2005 4wd RAV4 w/ manual transmission. All mechanical linkages and power transfer. With only me in the car it’s a hoot and even better in the snow.

to clarify, i don't think ICE cars are going away entirely, but they are going to be the niche, which electric being very much mainstream for most, but not all, applications.

This is sort of silly. The biggest people who love EV tend to love EV because of the whole host of reasons that we believe they are better. I never gave a darn about my previous cars, but was constantly annoyed by how they required constant maintenance (sometimes regular, and sometimes "surprise"), how much time I spent figuring out when and how to maintain them within my life, and how much they cost to operate.

I got the Leaf because it was affordable. It's also the best affordable driving experience I've ever had, I love the acceleration, I feel safer in it because of the control, the range has not been an issue, and I've saved over $1000 from it this year in fuel costs alone.

For maintenance? I once had to buy it wiener fluid because it ran out. I've had to take my regular car in like three times in the meantime.

If you can get me a gas car that is as convenient and that refills itself safely at my house, I'd go back. Until then, I hate the extra time I have to spend.

And nearly everyone who has rode in our Leaf and has heard that stuff agrees. There is a large demand out there that hasn't been met yet by auto manufacturers.

To me, it is all about convenience and cost. I value my time a lot. Going to the gas station or God forbid getting an oil change feels like it is so annoying now.

And if I know people, the now aspect of them is what will win out.

The biggest car guy I know was absolutely drooling over the Roadster 2 specs. To me, that says it all.

Naw, most people don't care one way or the other. But since EVs are at least 50% cheaper to operate, and way more fun to drive the EV market is exploding. Your choice of words, "forced" and "coaxed" are puzzling and not consistent with reality.

Except a massive solar and battery business.

Kodak sells millions of cameras a year.
Blockbuster rents millions of videos a day.
Tower records sells millions of CDs a month.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

This isn't a very good analogy. If Disney wanted to compete with Netflix, instead of focus on their core extremely profitable content creating business and instead pursue distribution they would face the same dilemma that others have - they wouldn't be able to sign up other content creators because those other content creators would not want to support a competitor. How is that similar to Ford v Tesla?

Take a look at the weak sauce numbers for other struggling content creator-only distribution plays. If that was a viable strategy Disney would have done it. Compare and contrast to Ford's "all-in" on EVs last week with similar statements from Blockbuster v. Netflix, Record/CD stores v. Apple, Nokia v. Apple, Sears v. Amazon or many other disruptive stories.

This is a perfect example of using bad data to claim a false majority.

You claim that an unknown and unquantifiable number of people on a forum have an opinion that you agree with. Totally valid opinion.

However this opinion is not reflected in actual sales data, nor in carmaker's actual plans.

The fact is that Tesla has so changed the game that even Ferrari is talking about an all electric supercar.

I doubt that very much, but we will see this year.

Thanks! It worked like a charm. My flight landed 40 minutes early (Southwest for the win), I got my rental car that feels even more like a lawn mower than my daily driver, and made it there by the time I was supposed to pick up my car. 30 minutes later, I checked it out.

It's better internally than I expected by a large margin. It feels like the Model S that I've rode in. I found out it can use the same charger as I have at home already with an included adapter.

The trunk is HUGE, far bigger than my Sentra or anything else I've had, while maintaining the same basic size.

And it fits me super comfortably.

Wow. I expected to like it a lot, and usually I build my expectations up to something that can't be met. This exceeded my impossibly high expectations. I can't wait.

IMG_20180121_150257145 (resized).jpg

I’ll have our 3 next week. I’m happy to show it off to whomever.. for more than 30 seconds.

Did it have wiener fluid though?

Darn you phone / Aaron for finding the phone's error!

They actually made it very clear it only nerds windshield wiper fluid.

And I'm totally keeping that fat finger phone correction in there.

anyone going on a long trip, don't forget your orange

Isn't that the panel from which the air bag deploys? If so, in case of an accident it is probably not a good idea to put something pressuring the top of it.

Ah yes let’s defeat multiple safety features at once. Great idea.

Thanks trump!
http://time.com/5113472/donald-trump-solar-panel-tariff

Picking up my Model 3 tomorrow, while my buddy eagerly awaits his TNA. Looks like I won this bet!!! Exciting times.

Don't want to be a debby downer, just relaying the information, don't shoot me

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/262510-new-report-self-driving-cars-ranks-tesla-dead-last

Really? I didn't know you could buy a car (other than a Tesla) with Level 3 autonomous driving. I'm not talking about adaptive cruise control, but Level 3. What models are available? I'm not in the market, but I'm curious.

Looks like unsubstantiated blather.

On my way back to the airport, slept in Hawthorne. I woke up to see multiple Model 3s in front of the hotel, so I decided to check how close SpaceX was. Visited the campus and wow, Model 3s everywhere.

Managed to snap a photo. This was right after a line of three of them at once went into their parking structure.

IMG_20180124_083725009_HDR (resized).jpg

It is scary that some people don't understand that the autopilot is not something you can just let drive for you:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/23/technology/tesla-fire-truck-crash/index.html

it's pretty infuriating, actually. The manual and marketing materials all say you need to keep a hand on the wheel and pay attention at all times when using Autopilot. Plus the car itself tells you to keep paying attention to the road literally every time you engage it, and has chimes and software features designed to make sure the driver IS actually paying attention. yes, through special effort, you can defeat the safety features in a Tesla, just like any other car. and for that, people want to blame the car? it's absurd.

it's also absurd that every Tesla accident is a national news story, despite it being statistically one of the safest cars on the road.