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It's been 10 years in the making, and it's nearly here - the ev that is designed to take the electric car mainstream. On March 31st 2016, the Tesla Model 3 will be unveiled to the world by Elon Musk. Tesla already has a great following, and why not with such innovative electric vehicles as the Model S, Model X and the Roadster, phenomenally good cars.

It will be interesting to see how the Model 3 will change the range. Tesla have been offering little bits of info to keep us inspired, here's what we know:

This latest offering will be about as roomy as an Audi A4, which is only 20% smaller than the Model S, which means it perfectly pitched against the 3 Series by BMW, and the Mercedes C Class. Also expect storage in the front as an ev has no engine!

Elon Musk has been quoted saying:

"The Model 3 is going to be probably the most profound car that we make"

Which is good news for early adopters of the electric vehicle.

The Launch Event being held this week, will have a prototype ready for reporters to experience, which is a good thing seeing that the car will not be on sale until late 2017. It will certainly be interesting to see how the prototype compares to the finished product.

The biggest question is - Will the 3 be a compact version of the Model S? All we can do is hypothesise about it's looks - Will it have a sleek look, with an oval front end, like the S? Or will it look more like the Model X? 

The silhouette featured on the invitiation is open to interpretation, and when asked for "further clarification" on the look of the new Model, the reply from a Tesla spokesperson was "Ha!" - so, no help there then...

Employees of Tesla are being offered First dibs on the Model 3, followed by the public this coming March 31st.

Reserve yours now at tesla.com - $1000 deposit upfront, which is fully refundable.

It has been uttered that this model won't be available in a signature style series. However, upgrades will be available. These are still to be finalised, however, possibles are:
Autopilot
Uprated Battery
AWD
Speed Mods
 

The Base Model will cost you $35000 (£24,336.29 using today's exchange rate) and $50000 (£34,765,94 using today's exchange rate) for the car with upgrades.

Tesla is powering the compact ev with the same 60 kWh Lithium-Ion Battery Pack, already earmarked for use in the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt. Expect a range of at least a minimum of 200 miles per charge.

The Model 3 will highly likely be autonomous ready, coming equipped with sensors to allow autonomous driving. Elon Musk predicted in Jan, that in 10-15 years, all news cars will be autonomous.

This is just food for thought - we will have to wait until the 31st of March to see what the Model 3 really is. As we know, it is already going into a better established market that the luxury vehicle market, which has already seen the Model S become the top selling luxury car in the USA. Will the Model 3 have a harder time of it in such a varied and already successful market? Or will it dominate? We shall have to wait and watch...

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Northern Group of Motoring Writers NGMW

Northern Group Of Motoring Writers

Annabelle Quirk Vice Chairwoman
Ben D T Quirk Member