The wet dream of Prius drivers is here: an environmentally-friendly car that doesn’t make you look like your diet consists of cupcakes and juice boxes.
In recent years, electric and hybrid cars have gained momentum, being driven (no pun intended) toward the mainstream. Although they always seem to lack affordability, appearance or quality.
Tesla’s Model 3, an all-electric car, puts these three issues to rest.
Tesla is widely known as providing the highest quality electric cars you can buy. The company was founded in 2003 with the intention of ultimately creating an electric car that can be affordably distributed among the masses.
The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, reveals this through his “secret plan” that can be broken down into three generations of vehicles.
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Low volume, high price (Roadster)
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High volume, affordable price (Model 3)
The Model 3 has been considered the Model T of the 21st century, which is quite a big title to carry given the car isn’t even available until late 2017. Although it’s hard to argue against the comparison since the Model 3 daringly challenges gasoline-fueled vehicles, the format of mass-produced cars since Teddy Roosevelt was president.
The world has been waiting impatiently as the utopian view of the future fades away. Cars are going to stay on the ground for now (unless they’re in Israel).
This car is a leap forward into a more realistic optimism regarding what the upcoming years hold for transportation. Musk makes it clear that the name of the game is sustainability.
This has been considered a disruptive change to the automotive industry. It’s not settling very well with big-name car companies.
In Michigan, for example, a bill was passed by Michigan governor Rick Snyder in 2014, disallowing direct to consumer auto sales through manufacture-owned showrooms (Tesla’s business model). Although the bill did not specifically name Tesla, they were the obvious target given that the bill was backed by General Motors, and Tesla is the only popular company that uses this model.
Although there are many anti-Tesla companies, the people seem to be all for it. As of April 8, over 325,000 pre-orders have been placed for the Model 3, showing that drivers of the world are ready to adopt sustainable transportation.
This is all ideal, but the question begging to be asked is: Is this car really made for the masses when it’s priced at $35,000?
Although this starting price is only slightly above the average new car price ($33,560), it is still a very expensive investment, and most individuals aren’t buying new cars. So who are the masses in this situation?
These are still wealthy individuals able to purchase a brand new car. Granted, they’re not as elite as the owners of the first three Tesla models, but they are wealthy nonetheless.
Yet it is important to remember this car is the pioneer for a new generation of cars. This is only the beginning of the wave of affordable, high-quality electric cars.
As competition arises, the price will be driven down and the quality will increase.
This is not just some futuristic fantasy. This car is a reality, and in just around a year they will be beginning to fill the streets.
The quality, efficiency and affordability will all go hand in hand. Whatever factor drives you in, you will get the others as a bonus.
Although Tesla is a relatively small company compared to the pillars of the industry such as Ford, GM and Toyota, it is still prepared for mass production.
Tesla is being considered “The Next Apple” through its approach to design, interconnected products and world-wide concepts. We’ll just have to wait and see if the Model 3 is adopted like the iPhone or whether it is simply Tesla’s Apple Watch.
Based off of Tesla’s quality and anticipation of this product, we can assume the Model 3 will be mass-adopted. Buckle up and enjoy the ride as Tesla floors it to the future.
Sam Rios can be reached at [email protected] or @theeemessiah on Twitter.
