May 16, 2016
The day the automotive world has been waiting for came and went, Tesla Motors revealed their highly anticipated Model 3. There were two mentalities of anticipation, either you are on team Tesla is going to save the world, or ruin my business. Obviously the oil industry, has vested interest in the Model 3’s flopping. They wanted the range to be under 200 miles so the anxiety would hinder sales. Unfortunately, for guys like this, the range is just over that threshold. That means that not only will that be enough distance for essentially any city commute, but it would also be enough for shorter day trips. Granted, it will still be an inconvenience for those looking to take longer trips. For that reason, the supercharging station will still be integral for expansion of the brand. Without it, the car will be a relinquished to a literal in city car. It is also unfortunate that, battery technology is quite expensive. So for the foreseeable future, the Tesla Model 3 will by no means be an entry level model. This will prove to be a plus for pro-oil entities, because petrol powered cars can dip down into the thousand teens, which could drop the price down to even half as expensive as Tesla’s cheapest model. That should not be too detrimental for the young automaker, there are many automakers that do not have an “entry level” model, but are still quite successful. Audi is an apropos analogy, and works well into my next point. In its infancy, Audi was renowned for its innovation amazing attention to detail. Before mass production, Audi engineers attained fame for their patented Quattro system. Quattro technology single-handedly won quite a few rallies. After Audi (quickly) became famous, they used Volkswagen’s chest of monies to start mass producing. Tesla, in turn, will do the same except with their own money. The Model 3 is the company’s first foray into that direction. In that sense, their base model will not be make or break for them, but it will be the deciding factor between mass market super (electric) power, and niche manufacturer. Given the illustrious fanfare into which it was released a superficial glance would assume it is going to be hugely successful, however that might not be true. There is an outside (not unreasonable) chance that the Chevrolet Bolt will have a greater range than the Tesla Model 3. If that is the case, the $37,500 electric Chevy may not be hindered by the fact that it is $2,500 more expensive than the Model 3. Granted, then it becomes a battle of beauty, and that subjective facet is up to each individual buyer. The Chevrolet Bolt, will have an inherent advantage in the fact that it will be released sooner than Tesla Motors mid-range people carrier. However, conventional wisdom all but agrees that the Model 3 has a better chance. The day it was released, 200,000 people preordered the Model 3, since then, that number has doubled. But there is a chance that is all the die-hard Tesla motors fans, it is likely Bolt buyers are going to give advanced notice, they buy on a whim the way one does a Prius. Not only that, but Camaro buyers might be swayed on site (not sight) by the all electric Bolt’s electrified torque. If the Chevrolet Bolt is better (which is still up in the air), lots of people are going to buy it. Furthermore, impatient people will undoubtedly go for the Bolt, which will not only be on the road sooner (possibly October of this year), but will be more convenient to purchase, given the fact that they will be instantly available in the lot as opposed to having to order and pick up a Tesla Model 3