Tesla Launches Base Model 3: Here's The Price

Eric Loveday

By: Eric Loveday

Feb 28, 2019 at 4:45pm ET

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Elon Tusk (or was that Musk) clued us in on some Tesla news and now we know what it is.

Just the other day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to let the world know there'd be "some Tesla news" coming our way today (see tweets at bottom of post). Immediately, speculation over what was to be announced took over the Internet.

Guesses were all over the place. Tesla Model Y reveal date? Tesla Model 3 $35,000 base launch. Tesla pickup truck news. Even some stock mentions.

More Tesla News

How To Buy A New Tesla Model 3 For Just $26,250

You name it and someone out there guessed at it. Well, the guessing game has ended and this "some Tesla news" is here.

Just moments ago we got tipped to pricing for this announcement that is now minutes away. It's the base Model 3. For an unbelievable price. It has finally arrived and will be a real game-changer. Have a look at the embedded image below:

And here's the most important bit of info straight from Tesla:

We are incredibly excited to announce that the standard Model 3, with 220 miles of range, a top speed of 130mph and 0-60mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds is now available at $35,000! Although lower in cost, it is built to achieve the same perfect 5-star safety rating as the longer-ranged version, which has the lowest probability of injury of any car ever tested by the U.S. Government.

In addition, we are introducing the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which offers 240 miles of range, a top speed of 140mph, 0-60mph acceleration of just 5.3 seconds and most premium interior features at $37,000 before incentives. For 6% more money, you get 9% more range, more power, and an upgraded interior.

To achieve these prices while remaining financially sustainable, Tesla is shifting sales worldwide to online only.

Additionally, even though retail stores may close, Elon Musk directly tells InsideEVs the following:

"Our headcount in 12 months will probably be significantly higher than today, due to adding lots of people to manufacturing, engineering and service."

The website has already been updated with the new details. See image below:

Tesla's press release is posted in its entirety below:

$35,000 Tesla Model 3 Available Now

We are incredibly excited to announce that the standard Model 3, with 220 miles of range, a top speed of 130mph and 0-60mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds is now available at $35,000! Although lower in cost, it is built to achieve the same perfect 5-star safety rating as the longer-ranged version, which has the lowest probability of injury of any car ever tested by the U.S. Government.

In addition, we are introducing the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which offers 240 miles of range, a top speed of 140mph, 0-60mph acceleration of just 5.3 seconds and most premium interior features at $37,000 before incentives. For 6% more money, you get 9% more range, more power, and an upgraded interior.

To achieve these prices while remaining financially sustainable, Tesla is shifting sales worldwide to online only. You can now buy a Tesla in North America via your phone in about 1 minute, and that capability will soon be extended worldwide. We are also making it much easier to try out and return a Tesla, so that a test drive prior to purchase isn’t needed. You can now return a car within 7 days or 1,000 miles for a full refund. Quite literally, you could buy a Tesla, drive several hundred miles for a weekend road trip with friends and then return it for free. With the highest consumer satisfaction score of any car on the road, we are confident you will want to keep your Model 3.

Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected. Over the next few months, we will be winding down many of our stores, with a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers. The important thing for customers in the United States to understand is that, with online sales, anyone in any state can quickly and easily buy a Tesla.

At the same time, we will be increasing our investment in the Tesla service system, with the goal of same-day, if not same-hour service, and with most service done by us coming to you, rather than you coming to us. Moreover, we guarantee service availability anywhere in any countries in which we operate.

We’re also excited to announce that we’re implementing a number of firmware upgrades for both new and existing customers. These upgrades will increase the range of the Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive Model 3 to 325 miles, increase the top speed of Model 3 Performance to 162 mph, and add an average of approximately 5% peak power to all Model 3 vehicles.

Tesla is committed to making not just the best electric cars, but the best cars, period. And our products are the reason we continue to rank #1 in Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey and have every single year since Tesla was first eligible to be included in 2013. Both Model 3 Standard and Standard Plus are available starting today at Tesla.com.

Developing story...

Some Tesla news

— Elon Tusk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2019

Thursday 2pm

— Elon Tusk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2019

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California

— Elon Tusk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2019

Hat tip to @28delayslater!!!!

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