Gen III aka Model E - summary
I thought it might be nice to have a post summarizing the explicit claims from Tesla on the GenIII project. I figured I could write what I know from reading here and update this as anyone informs me of changes, news and things I missed. Please give me a source so I can link that as well.
Tesla GenIII project.
After the Model 3 (Gen III) sedan we should see the SUV/CUV (investigative work by poster Model 3)
There are obviously other bits of information I am missing above. Please update this post with claims and source and I will update the top post to reflect.
Rumored or Unconfirmed but strongly suspected information:
Some other speculative comments from regular followers:
note: Elon has talked about ditching the big screen in the videos linked above.
djw
I thought it might be nice to have a post summarizing the explicit claims from Tesla on the GenIII project. I figured I could write what I know from reading here and update this as anyone informs me of changes, news and things I missed. Please give me a source so I can link that as well.
Tesla GenIII project.
- US Price and Availability:Sedan will be first and target price is $35K USD, this is the price without government subsidies source Tesla Con Call 13-Aug-2013
- Range 300km, closer to 320km (aka 200miles) with options to go higher than that. Source - Elon Musk talking in Munich -forum post - GenIII when will we see first prototype
- Prototype ready - probably about a year, 12-18 months best guess 1st Quarter of 2015, souce - Elon Musk in Munich 21-Oct-2013
- Comparison Vehicle BMW 3 series - source Elon Musk in Munich 21-Oct-2013
- Size: "smaller than the model s, no as many features, but about half the price" - source Elon Musk in Munich 21-Oct-2013
- SUV - a genIII platform SUV smaller than the Model X was confirmed 30-May-2013 by Tesla
- Current Progress - GenIII is currently in sketch form, clay form expected in 2014, Model X takes priority and is in Clay (as of 24Oct2013)
- Fit and Finish - Less luxury than the Model S, possibly a smaller screen and/or 1 screen instead of two - source Elon Musk in Munich 21-Oct-2013
- Name:Unknown, Tesla was considering the name Model E - source: Entry-level Tesla will be called the Model E - report , James Chen of Tesla at Virginia Supercharger opening (3:10 in the video) - Tesla Richmond Super Charger - James Chen, Tesla Motors - YouTube - but has since abandoned the trademark for reasons unknown.
- Style: Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen quote from 12/12/2013 - “The model leads Tesla to a new level. The car will show what we are about: to build electric cars for the masses. It is not a small model S, we do not want a unit face like Audi.”
- Supercharging: Elon Musk in multiple appearances has stressed that Supercharging will be free for all current and future Tesla vehicles. In this case free means no ongoing cost, not the lack of an upfront charge at purchase time.
After the Model 3 (Gen III) sedan we should see the SUV/CUV (investigative work by poster Model 3)
I finely found the time to find a record of Elon talking abut this Gen-III CUV/SUV...
http://insideevs.com/video-elon-mus...rger-expansion-cheaper-future-tesla-and-more/ at about 13 minute mark...
More here:
http://insideevs.com/teslas-future-product-lineup-to-include-just-announced-compact-suv/
and here:
http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/05/te...nvisions-selling-around-500k-units-long-term/
There are obviously other bits of information I am missing above. Please update this post with claims and source and I will update the top post to reflect.
Rumored or Unconfirmed but strongly suspected information:
- Styling: The GenIII is reported to be heavily inspired by the Model S in appearance. I don't have a source for this and a search didn't reveal one quickly. If anyone can get me a source I will move this to confirmed - recently contradicted by Franz.
- Size Speculation in the GenIII $35K thread about 20% size reduction vs Model S, some of %30 volume reduction - source unconfirmed
Some other speculative comments from regular followers:
[note this has been edited by djw and is speculation]
- Will it be aluminum? Definitely. The main reason: they already have and know the tech.
- Will the battery be in the floor? Yes, because there is no reason not to put it there and because there is no better place to put it.
- Will it have a frunk or will it be FWD? This one is not such a definite Yes! It might be FWD, it might be RWD. It might use the same front motor as in MX or get its own drive unit. Why do anything of this is known only to tesla. If they try to reduce the cost, they will reuse MX front motor and make it FWD. FWD does not cancel out frunk.
[djw] my take is yes to the frunk and no to FWD.- Will it seat 5? It will seat 5 and no more. [speculation]
- Will it have falcon doors? No. It will be regular 'hatch', same as MS.
- Will it be a hatchback or wagon? I'd bet on hatchback, wagon later. I doubt they would only do wagon.
- Will it have tiny wheels? Tiny as in narrow? No. Will it have smaller wheels than MS? Yes. I'd bet 18" will be standard, maybe even 17". Price is the driving factor here.
- Will it have a big screen, extending handles, camera's instead of mirrors, HUD, voice control, self driving....yata yata yata? It will have a big screen, if nothing else because it became a Tesla trademark. It may not be 17", maybe only 15"
Extending handles? I'd guess no. Cameras instead of mirrors? No. HUD? Possibly a part of tech package, base model no. Voice control? Probably as this is becoming standard feature of car radios. Self driving? No.
yata yata yata? I'm sure it will have at least one cool distinct feature. Maybe just a frunk, maybe wireless charging, maybe xyz. Whatever it is, it will be kinda a cheap but still cool and distinctive thing. I'd bet on frunk.
note: Elon has talked about ditching the big screen in the videos linked above.
djw
Last edited: