By Iris Moya
The New Tesla 3 is set to debut tomorrow, Friday, July 7, 2017. Could it be that this model is actually affordable? With a base price starting at $35,000… umm… maybe not. But then you can get a nice tax break of $7,500 because of the federal tax credit since it IS an electric car. Then, maybe, just maybe it could be considered affordable. Now let’s learn a little more about this car. It is said that the Tesla 3 will come with an optional ludicrous mode for a whopping $10,000 more. This means that the car will draw more current which will allow the electric motor to temporarily produce more power. The end result will allow the car to go from 0 – 60mph in some speculate 3-5 seconds. The base model Tesla 3 will go from 0 – 60 in 6 seconds. Another incentive for purchasing the new Tesla 3 is it’s optional autopilot feature for an extra $3,000. Say what? Autopilot? YES! Autopilot. With autopilot mode (which I would definitely add to my base model) enables highway speed and stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, automatic parallel parking, and automatic lane changing!
Now I must ask myself, “Will this be my next car purchase?” To answer this I must also look at a drawback of the electric car. I learned on tesla.com that my vehicle can be conveniently charged at home, which will give me at least 215 miles per charge. I can also conveniently plug in at one of their charging sites if I am out and about or on a road trip. Next, I must ask myself, “Where are these charging sites located?” Tesla.com shows me that there are many charging sites located in my state, but MOST of them are for patrons only. In other words, I must be dining at the restaurant or staying overnight at their hotel in order to plug in. Where would this leave me if I was on a road trip and couldn’t get to a charging site? Well… that would leave me never taking a road trip without planning my route to include a stop at a “convenient” public charging site. Most are located in big cities in every state.
Maybe I want to buy one. What do I do next? Well, it’s not for sale just yet. It can be preordered for $1,000. I can reserve my model 3 online or at a Tesla store. According to Tesla’s order numbers from May 2016 there were already 373,000 Model 3 reservations. So, if I am interested in purchasing the Model 3, I may be waiting quite a while to drive off in my car.
