Tesla Model 3 Finally Starts Selling

Tesla has announced it will start selling a version of its Model 3 in the US at a price of $35,000, finally delivering on a promise it made more than two years ago.

Tesla Thursday started taking orders for a $35,000 version of its Model 3, fulfilling its promise of an affordable electric car. The company said it would make deliveries for some customers within two to four weeks.

The automaker also said it’s closing most of its 129 stores and instead will sell cars only online. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has talked about a $35,000 electric car for years, part of his goal to expand the company’s customer base beyond the limited market that can afford cars costing well over $100,000 in some cases. “This is something we’ve been working toward since we created the company,” Musk said Thursday on a call with reporters. 

When Tesla unveiled the Model 3 in 2016, the company said it planned to sell a $35,000 version. But the first models were instead priced from $43,000 to $58,000. Buyers still lined up; In 2017, Tesla had more than 500,000 reservations with refundable cash deposits of $1,000 each.

Yet as Tesla struggled to ramp up Model 3 production, some critics wondered whether it could make the production process efficient enough to push the price down. Throughout 2018, Tesla went through stages of what Musk described as “production hell” to boost the number of cars made. By November, the company had sold 100,000 Model 3s. 

For $35,000, buyers will get an electric car with 220 miles of range, 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 130 mph. In addition, Tesla is also offering a “Standard Range Plus” model with 240 miles of range, slightly better acceleration, and a 140 mph top speed, starting at $37,000.