Tesla Surprises with 310-Mile Range Model 3

Next comes ‘production hell’ as Elon Musk’s mass market electric car rolls out.

The Tesla Model 3 may be the most anticipated car in automotive history.  Certainly no car before it had a half-million people each paying $1,000 to reserve a car — more than a year before they would even be delivered.

So how are the reviews?  “Driving Tesla’s Model 3 Changes Everything,” blares Bloomberg’s headline. “We took one out for a spin, and have little doubt the age of electric cars has arrived.”

Just like Steve Jobs when he was introducing his latest category buster like Apple’s iPhone, Musk had a few surprises up his sleeve for the actual rollout — including an ultra-sleek interior and a 310-mile range.

We’ve known the Model 3 was going to be a 200-mile-plus range electric vehicle at the game-changing price of $30,000 or less — including tax incentives.  That was the price— same as the Chevy Bolt — and range combo that Bloomberg New energy Finance and others said was the sweet spot for mass market.

But in rolling out the first deliveries of the Model 3 on Friday, Tesla announced it would be selling two different versions.

The basic version costs $35,000, for which you get:

• Range:  220 miles (EPA estimate)
• Zero to 60 mph time:  5.6 seconds
• Supercharging rate:  130 miles in 30 minutes
• Top speed of 130 mph

The extended range version costs $44,000, which gets you:

• Range:  310 miles
• Zero to 60 mph time:  5.1 seconds
• Supercharging rate:  170 miles in 30 minutes
• Top speed of 140 mph

Both get the equivalent of more than 100 miles per gallon.

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