Tesla Model 3 revealed, pre-ordering available in UAE

Tesla Model 3 revealed, pre-ordering available in UAE

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Electric carmaker Tesla revealed their highly-anticipated new entry-level offering, the Model 3, at an event in Hawthorne, California. Slipping in below the Model S sedan and the Model X crossover, the Model 3 is the cheapest Tesla on sale.

The Model 3 is expected to have a price tag of US$ 35000 when it goes on sale in late 2017. Tesla says that it also has managed to gather 115,000 pre-orders even before its debut.

Aesthetically, it is a mini Model S with no grille up front. The rest of the car looks similar to the bigger sedan. It retains the fastback-styled rear of the S, but comes with a small sedan-like boot lid, as the roof and the rear windscreen make up just one large piece of glass.

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Inside, the Model 3 comes with a huge infotainment screen and that’s about it. The car is still in its early phases, so a lot of work is left to be done in the interior. Tesla has managed to eke out maximum cabin space by placing the batteries below the floor. This, along with a compressed dashboard, helped the front seats to be moved a bit forward, liberating space at the rear. The cabin can seat 5 or fit a 7-foot surfboard, Tesla claims.

All Tesla models are equipped with the company’s Autopilot hardware and safety systems. The Model 3 have managed to score 5 out of 5 in the every category of crash tests given by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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The slowest model in the lineup will take less than 6 seconds for the 0-100 kph run. Faster models are also available. And the 344 km range is 24 km better than the recently-revealed Chevrolet Bolt electric car.

Tesla also announced some details regarding the growth of its supercharging network in United States. The number of these stations, which help to charge the Tesla models in maybe half an hour, is expected to double by the end of 2017. They are also working on setting up new service stations so as to bring the total count up to 441 from the current 215 by the same time.

Tesla also says that this was just Part 1 of the Model 3 launch, so a Part 2 will follow, revealing more about the Model 3 and Tesla’s new plans.

Interestingly, reader Boris Joyston pointed out to us that the UAE is listed in the online pre-order form as an option when selecting a country. While the UAE still does not have any formal Tesla dealerships, there are a few privately-imported Model S cars roaming the streets, and it is likely Tesla will ship a car directly here if you have the money.

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Comments

  1. this signals the end of high oil prices as we know of it…

  2. this Apple-like hype is amazing.. Tesla will have big issues with reliability though moving forward.. see their recent troubles..

    • the issues you are referring to?.. transmission & Door lock have been fixed….

      the door issue was only during very cold conditions.

  3. porschy kinda…

  4. I would love to see a world with more electric cars… so gas prices go lower and we can afford v8s easier.

  5. Musk is a genius! Many of my friends working in the upper echelons of finance had/still have their reservations about the feasibility of Tesla business model. After 72 hours of revealing Model3, their order book is close to 300,000 units! Which equates to an order intake of 11 billion dollars! Seriously? Its more than monthly sales figures of GMC!

    Tesla doesn’t have dealership anywhere. In fact Mr. Musk wants to change the auto business model altogether rooting out the parasitic dealers who mint money from after sales service.

    Even the model S doesn’t have a grill. What looks like a grill is just a cosmetic work to enhance visual appeal. Why should it have a grill when there is not a heat transfer equipment which needs air to flow through?

    • What I find just as amazing is the sales that it has bought for Elon. Hes amassed USD276 million in the business within the span of 3 days. That’s quite the ripple to send to the entire auto industry.

  6. Model 3 or Mazda 3?!

  7. How will we be able to recharge it?

  8. Most people live in apartments especially in the UAE, until the infrastructure is done in a way to incorporate charging points for every parking slot.. it will be difficult to live with an electric car on a daily basis. Even if they had them in petrol stations, can you imagine the how long the queues would be especially that each car will need a minimum of an hour (using a supercharger) to have a decent range of driving.

    Don’t get me wrong, the tesla range is amazing from the roadster to their latest model 3, but the technology and infrastructure aren’t quite ready yet.

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