Last year, before the Tesla 'D' Event, Elon Musk said that people on the internet were on the right track, but had misjudged the magnitude of what they had to show.
I believe that people are doing the same with Model ≡. Some are literally predicting that the rear wheel drive base version will be no more powerful than a BMW 320i. Just a neat little runabout that is affordable and relatively efficient due to electric drive. Effectively, nothing more than a Camry LE, with rear wheel drive. It is that notion that my 'Ugh.' above was about.
No.
Elon has repeatedly said that their cars must be compelling, better than all the other cars on offer, or no one would have a reason to buy them.
That sentiment has been echoed by JB Straubel, who says that more than anything else, they want to make sure all their cars are fun to drive.
People both here and at the Tesla Motors forum told me that I was being 'Over-the-Top Optimistic' when I theorized that a version of Model ≡ might have dual 250 HP motors, 500 HP combined, paired with at least an 85 kWh battery pack, and that it would be priced similarly to the BMW 335i. They said I was out of my mind when I suggested that the base version of Model ≡ would probably use a refined version of the ~300 HP rear motor from the Model S 60, which would be discontinued ahead of the release of Generation III vehicles, and that the smallest capacity battery pack would be at least 60 kWh for a range approaching 250 miles. I now suspect that even that specification may be seriously short of what Tesla will actually unleash upon the automotive world.
So, yeah... This is a rather touchy subject for me. I honestly believe that Tesla Motors intends to utterly astonish the world with what the Model ≡ can do. They want to prove that all the Naysayers, every single one, is absolutely, thoroughly, and completely, 100% incorrect.