A Brief Recap of Tesla’s Event Launch
Last night, at approximately 8:30 PST, 11:30 EST Tesla revealed the Model 3, their latest all-electric vehicle (the 4th car they’ve made and the 3rd in their official standard releases). The 3 follows their other two mainstream car’s the Model S and the Model X. The S is the fastest 4-door car in history, and the best reviewed car in history – facts which were brought up by Tesla CEO Elon Musk last night in their Apple-esque launch event.
Quick Information About the Model 3
The event, which was shorter than one might have expected (around 30 minutes) revealed both a lot about the new vehicle, but also a lot about Tesla’s current work, and their plans around their eco system. However, the focus of the show – the model 3, was revealed and key details, including price and design were finally revealed.
Some of the most important details include:
- Base price will be $35,000 for Tesla’s latest and least expensive all-electric vehicle.
- 215 Mile Range
- Supercharging (fast charging included)
- Seating for 5 Adults (comfortably!)
- Autopilot (including safety features)
- The cars will be shipping by end of next year (2017)
- During the show (and preceding 24 hours) more than 110,000 cars were purchased
Other notables about the event:
Supercharging stations will double by the end of the year.
Their service locations will more than double by the end of the next year.
Their gigafactory, the largest building in the world (by foot print) and producing more batteries and more advanced batteries than all other battery factories combined is fully operational. The facility’s development began in 2014, and seems to be ahead of schedule according to Musk’s comments that it’s operational. According to their website: https://www.teslamotors.com/gigafactory – the site should be at full production by 2020.
We’re lucky enough to have a few charging stations here in Southwest Florida, including one at Gulf Coast Town Center, as well as some scattered at various hotels including the Ritz Carlton but the increase in supercharging and service stations throughout the country should make charging that much more convenient and secure Tesla’s dominance in electric now and into the future.
The Big Deal in Energy and the Future
The new model Tesla, the Model 3, is really the culmination of everything Tesla has been working towards, and everything Elon has sold to investors for more than a decade. Since ’03 Tesla’s been working to develop the first main-stream electric car company, and even though the Model S is a smash hit – because of its limited production and high-price, it’s out of the reach of most consumers and in a market shared by only a few luxury brands.
With the Model 3, Tesla is bringing their unique take on cars to the mainstream – along with economies of scale, and economies of revenue that will either propel it forward or, if a flop, destroy it – with many believing if the Model 3 isn’t successful – and doesn’t sell – then investors will run away, and the company will fold. With 11 years of only losses, Musk’s vision, and the companies array of existing, albeit expensive and niche cars, have allowed it to get to this point.
With last night’s unveil, we’re one-step closer to seeing electric vehicles – and all of their benefits – go mainstream. During the event Elon revealed that more than 110,000 cars were sold in 24 hours – meaning they have plenty of cash from the reserves to continue production, as well as making it the biggest sales day in car history, with more than $4,000,000,000 ($4 BILLION) dollars in cars committed for purchase.
Electric Cars
To date bringing electric cars has been difficult. Although trying to accomplish this feat is a gamble Tesla has been taking since the early 2000’s; it appears to be finally taking off. With their pre-existing network of charging and service stations, putting them out in front of existing combustion engine cars and technologies – where there’s a fractured system of petrol providers randomly scattered throughout the country. Their vision and business strategy is becoming more clear, and if the preliminary sales and stock bump from last year is any sign – it looks like this “pre-launch” was successful.
Electricity, when produced using the right technologies can be one of the least expensive and clean power mediums and obviously, as we’ve set out to build the nation’s first solar town, powering Babcock with FPL’s new solar array – we’re excited to be watching these developments take place. The time is right for a revolution in power and vehicle technology.
The beauty of electric is that, with the right technology (batteries) it can be stored. Between Tesla’s own gigafactory, their Powerwall units (which we hope our future residents take part in to store their energy) and their latest Model 3 – it seems clearer and clearer that electricity will be powering (most) our vehicles in the near future.