The Tesla Model 3 is a mid-size (US) / compact executive (EU) luxury all-electric four-door sedan manufactured and sold by Tesla, Inc. According to Tesla officials, the Model 3 standard model delivers an EPA-rated all-electric range of 220 miles (354 km) and the long-range model delivers 310 miles (500 km). The Model 3 has a minimalist dashboard with only a center-mounted LCD touchscreen. Tesla stated that the Model 3 carries full self-driving hardware to be optionally enabled at a future date.
Within a week of unveiling the Model 3 in 2016, Tesla revealed they had taken 325,000 reservations for the car, more than triple the number of Model S sedans sold by the end of 2015. These reservations represent potential sales of over US$14 billion. By August 2017, there were 455,000 net reservations, and an average of 1,800 reservations were being added per day.
Limited production of the Model 3 began in mid-2017, with the first production vehicle rolling off the assembly line on July 7, 2017, and the official launch and delivery of the first 30 cars on July 28. Since inception, customer deliveries totaled 9,946 units through March 2018. On April 18, 2018, Tesla updated its production target to 6,000 vehicles per week by the end of June 2018, an increase from its previous target of 5,000 vehicles per week which was previously promised at earlier dates.
Video Tesla Model 3
Early announcements and planning
Company officials said the standard model of the all-electric car will have an estimated EPA-rated range of 220 miles (350 km), a five-passenger seating capacity, front and rear trunks, and promised sports car levels of acceleration performance. With the introduction of the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version, this time will inevitably drop even lower, especially with the guarantee from Elon Musk that there will be a ludicrous version as well. Tesla said it would have a 5-Star safety rating and have a drag coefficient of Cd=0.23. This will be lower than the Tesla Model S drag coefficient of Cd=0.24, which, in 2014, was the lowest among current production cars.
Industry experts were dubious when, in May 2016, Tesla announced its decision to advance its 500,000 total-unit build plan (combined for Model S, Model X, and Model 3) to 2018, two years earlier than previously planned, in order to accelerate its target for Model 3 output. As predicted, there were "production bottlenecks" and "production hell". Tesla issued US$2 billion in new shares to the stock market to finance the plan.
The company plans for the Model 3 are part of Tesla's three-step strategy to start with a high-price vehicle and move progressively towards lower-cost vehicles, while the battery and electric drivetrain were improved and paid for through the sales of the Roadster, Model S, and Model X vehicles.
Model naming
The Model 3 was codenamed Tesla BlueStar in the original business plan in 2007. The name Model 3, originally stylized as "Model ?", was announced on Musk's Twitter account on July 16, 2014, however, the intended name was Model E that was abandoned due to Ford's trademark on the name; Musk wanted the three current models to spell SEX, but settled with "S3X". In early 2017, after trademark opposition from Adidas, the triplicate horizontal-bar stylization was abandoned and changed to a numeric "3".
Market
In September 2015, Tesla announced that the Model 3 would be unveiled in March 2016. In January 2016, Musk said that the first official pictures of the car will be revealed at the end of March 2016. Delivery would begin in late 2017 first on the U.S.'s west coast and then move eastwards. Potential customers were first able to reserve a car at Tesla stores or online on March 31 with a refundable deposit of $1000. In February 2016, Tesla indicated that the unveiling would be on March 31, 2016. Employees of Tesla and SpaceX were given early access to Model 3 reservation, and about 10,000 signed up without discount, scheduled to receive the first batch of cars. Current owners of Tesla vehicles will get priority sales after employees but before the general public, as a reward for helping pay for the development of the Model 3. Early production is usually more flawed: both the Model S and the Model X had several problems at the start of their production, but have since improved.
On the morning of March 31, 2016, tens of thousands of people waited in lines to place the refundable deposit to reserve a Model 3 for 2017 delivery. During the Model 3 unveiling event, Tesla said that over 115,000 people had reserved the Model 3 in less than 24 hours prior; more cars than Tesla had sold by that time. 24 hours after opening reservations, Tesla had advanced orders for over 180,000 cars. Two days later, Tesla said they had 232,000 reservations.
One week after the unveiling, Tesla said it had over 325,000 reservations. Musk said that 5% of reservations correspond to the maximum of two vehicles allowed per customer, "suggesting low levels of speculation", and that 93% of Model 3 reservations are from new buyers who do not currently own a Tesla. The previous record for advance deposits on a car was the 1955 Citroën DS that had 80,000 deposits during the ten days of the Paris Auto Show, while the Model 3 had 232,000 reservations in two days.
According to Tesla's global vice-president Robin Ren, China is the second-largest market for the Model 3 after the US. Tesla said the number of net reservations totaled about 373,000 as of May 15, 2016, after about 8,000 customer cancellations and about 4,200 reservations canceled by the automaker because these appeared to be duplicates from speculators. Upon its release in July 2017, there had been over 500,000 reservations for the Model 3, with Musk later clarifying there were a net of 455,000 reservations outstanding.
By the end of April 2018, an estimated 23% of Model 3 U.S. reservations had been refunded, possibly due to the company's announcement of delivery delays.
Maps Tesla Model 3
Design
In 2013, design chief Franz von Holzhausen said that the Model 3 will "be an Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class type of vehicle that will offer everything: range, affordability, and performance" that is targeted toward the mass market. While technology from Tesla's Model S will be used in the Model 3, it will be 20% smaller than the Model S and have its own unique design. According to Tesla's CTO, JB Straubel, in October 2015, most Tesla engineers were working on the 3 rather than S or X. Since electric cars have lower cooling needs than combustion cars, the Model 3 does not have or need a front grille. Musk intended for the final design to be released on June 30, 2016 but when the design was finished on July 27, it was not publicly released. After the final design of the first Model 3, any further changes would be included in future versions of the Model 3. The optional glass roof developed by Tesla Glass will be made of the same glass used for Tesla's roof tiles; a glass roof was introduced on the Model S in late 2016.
Production
The Model 3 is mostly steel, with some aluminum. Tesla plans to increase the size of the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California to accommodate Model 3 production.
Production stages
In May 2016, Tesla told its suppliers that it intended to double earlier-announced Model 3 production targets to 100,000 in 2017 and 400,000 in 2018 due to demand, which suppliers and many experts viewed as unattainable. In the Tesla Factory, paint lines for 500,000 automobiles commenced in 2015, and some stamping equipment for the Model 3 was operational by August 2016. Tesla bought Grohmann Engineering, experienced in automated manufacturing, January 2017. This acquisition launched Tesla Advanced Automation Germany, which Tesla said would develop manufacturing processes to be used initially in Model 3 production. According to Tesla in late 2016, the company expected to invest between US$2 billion and US$2.5 billion in capital expenditures ahead of the start of Model 3 production.
After the two Alpha prototypes were shown (silver and black; red was a shell) in April 2016, Tesla finished the design in late July 2016. Tesla ordered parts equivalent to 300 Beta prototypes in August 2016, preparing for development of the assembly line. As of August 2016, the company intended to make release candidates for testing prior to actual production. Tesla began building Model 3 prototypes in early February 2017 as part of the testing of the vehicle design and manufacturing processes. Tesla said in late 2016 that initial crash test results had been positive.
In October 2016, Tesla said its production timeline was on schedule. Again in February 2017, Tesla said that vehicle development, supply chain and manufacturing are on track to support volume deliveries of the Model 3 in the second half of 2017. Limited vehicle production began in July 2017 and volume production was scheduled at that time to start by September 2017. As of February 2017, Tesla planned to ramp up production to exceed 5,000 vehicles per week in Q4 2017 and reach 10,000 vehicles per week in 2018. However, Tesla missed their Q4 production target by far, as only 2,425 vehicles were produced during the entire 3-month period. 5 months before, Musk claimed on Twitter that Tesla would be able to produce 20,000 Model 3 per month by December of the same year. Tesla's actual production numbers were therefore 93% lower than his prediction.
Gigafactory 1 had been intended to produce battery packs for Model 3 and it was announced in January 2017 that Tesla would also manufacture drive units at Gigafactory 1. In February 2017, Tesla said that installation of Model 3 manufacturing equipment was underway in the Fremont factory and at Gigafactory 1, where in January, production of battery cells for energy-storage products began, which have the same form-factor as the cells that will be used in Model 3.
Deliveries
As industry experts had predicted, Tesla did not meet the announced delivery targets. The first delivery was on July 7, 2017, to Musk himself. The first 30 production units were delivered on July 28, 2017.
In early July 2017, Musk forecast at least six months of serious production difficulties. Tesla's announced goal at that time was to produce 1,500 units in the third quarter of 2017, increasing to 20,000 per month by December 2017, but only 260 vehicles were manufactured during the third quarter. The company blamed product bottlenecks but said there were "no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain" and expressed confidence about its ability to resolve the bottlenecks in the near future. Tesla delivered 1,542 Model 3 cars in the fourth quarter of 2017, about 2,900 less than Wall Street estimations, which were already halved previously after Tesla published the company's third quarter report. Customer deliveries totaled 1,764 units in 2017, and 8,182 units during the first quarter of 2018. Since January 2018, the Model 3 has remained the top-selling plug-in car in the U.S. each month.
By early November 2017, Musk postponed the target date for manufacturing 5,000 of the vehicles per week from December 2017 to March 2018. An analyst with Cowan and Company, an investment banking firm, said "Elon Musk needs to stop over-promising and under-delivering". Prior to a planned shutdown in mid-April to further increase production, Tesla produced more than 2,000 Model 3 vehicles for three straight weeks.
Issues
In May 2018, Consumer Reports Model 3 testing found "big flaws -- such as long stopping distances in our emergency braking test and difficult-to-use controls", finding the braking distance worse than a Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck, and causing it to not recommend the car. Tesla responded to the claims with concern and, a few days later (over a weekend), released an over-the-air (OTA) update fixing the anti-lock braking algorithm. Consumer Reports, impressed with the prompt - and unprecedented - brake fix OTA update, verified the improved braking performance and changed its rating to a recommended model.
Consumer Reports' remaining concerns about wind noise and an uncomfortable rear seat were also quickly remedied in production, according to Elon Musk. Some of the consumer group's other concerns about the clumsy touch screen user interface might also be addressed via OTA updates.
Specifications
The base Model 3 has a 50 kWh battery with a range of about 220 mi (350 km) and the optional 75 kWh battery has a range of about 310 mi (500 km). The 2170-size lithium-ion cells, have a higher energy density than the 18650-size lithium-ion cells used in previous Tesla vehicles by as much as 30%.
The standard Model 3 battery pack is made of four longitudinal modules each containing the individual battery cells. The standard-range model carries 2,976 cells arranged in groups of 31. The 75kWh configuration carries 4,416 cells arranged in groups of 46.
Reception
Car-design columnist and former car designer for GM Robert Cumberford said the Model 3 "is an excellent design" and praised the front fascia skin that he thinks is superior to the black plastic simulated grille of the pre-refresh Model S. Cumberford praised the Model 3's minimalist design, and "elegant simplicity" akin to Apple products. Although he criticized the car's spoiler, he said the Model 3 has a design that would age well, and "in 10 years it will still look contemporary and beautifully understated, not old and irrelevant."
Motor Trend said the nose was controversial and polarizing, but probably intentionally so. Vanity Fair and others compared the Model 3 to the Ford Model T for its intended affordability as a volume-produced electric vehicle and for its limited set of options, namely range, wheels and exterior color of which all but black costs extra. Automotive journalist Doug DeMuro said the Model 3 was better, though $2,000 more expensive than, the BMW 340i and that it was the "coolest car of the year," later clarifying that this was based on the "long waiting lists, obsessive interest and news stories." Alex Roy said that DeMuro's review had concentrated on hardware details and missed out on the bigger picture.
Automotive industry analyst Toni Sacconaghi of AllianceBernstein said after driving the latest Tesla vehicle in November 2017 that "Overall, we found the Model 3 to be a compelling offering, and believe it is likely to further galvanize the overall Electric Vehicle category." He was less impressed with build quality of the test samples. "Fit and finish on the two demo cars we saw--perhaps not surprisingly--was relatively poor." He said that there were quality issues at first with the Model X which led to some concern. "This is going to be a much, much higher-volume car, and if there are any quality issues, that could overwhelm the service centers and undermine the Tesla brand." Nonetheless, Sacconaghi was impressed with the ride quality, performance and interior space, and concluded that the 3 "risks cannibalizing the [very expensive] Model S going forward."
Road and Track's Bob Sorokanich said the "Model 3 proves that Tesla is thinking far beyond the edges of the Model S and X. Stepping out of the 3, you realize that, as far as the S and X pushed the envelope, they were always meant as intermediaries, stepping stones designed to draw people away from comfortable convention and into the future of the automobile. ... The Model 3 is Tesla at its most unabashed. It's an automaker finally willing to abandon the skeuomorphism of a false radiator grille, the tradition of a driver-oriented gauge panel."
Awards
Popular Mechanics named the Tesla Model 3 the magazine's Car of the Year. Popular Mechanics said the car represented the future of motoring, with "ferocious" acceleration, and novel and reliable autonomous features. The review said the car lacked a head-up display, but was overall impressive.
Model 3 was given the 2018 Design of the Year award by Automobile magazine.
See also
- List of electric cars currently available
- List of modern production plug-in electric vehicles
- List of production battery electric vehicles
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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