There’s a long 500,000-plus queue for the Tesla Model 3, an electric vehicle the company says was built for the masses. And many of those reservation holders plunked down their refundable $1,000 more than a year ago.
But now, a day after CEO Elon Musk handed over the 30 production Model 3 vehicles to employees, the wait is over. Sort of.
The company has updated information for reservation holders that gives a general timeframe of when they might get their hands on the car. And more importantly, what kind of Model 3 you can get.
The takeaway: If you can only afford a $35,000 car, the initial price floated by Tesla when the vehicle was first unveiled in March 2016, you’ll have to wait.
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Below is a screenshot of a reservation made on March 31, 2016, the first day people could place a refundable deposit on the Model 3. You’ll notice that Tesla will first sell and deliver the more expensive longer range battery version of the Model 3 sometime between November and January 2018.
The longer range version of the Model 3, which gets 310 miles on a single charge, is actually a $9,000 upgrade, bringing the cost to $44,000. This means this first version that Tesla plans to sell must include some other upgrades.
It’s not clear what the extra $5,000 is going towards. As Coins2Day outlined during the Friday event, there are so many ways to boost the price of the Model 3.
An upgrade interior package, which includes better audio, heated seats, and an additional two USB ports for the backseat passengers, is $5,000. Any other color than the standard black is an extra $1,000. And what Tesla calls “enhanced Autopilot,” semi-autonomous capabilities that will keep the vehicle within the lane, automatically change lanes, self-park once the driver has arrived at their destination, and match speed to traffic conditions, is an additional $5,000.
The standard battery version of the Model 3, which will travel 220 miles to a single charge, will become available to the first reservation holders between January and March 2018.
And for those who really want a dual motor all-wheel drive Model 3, you’ll have to wait until at least September 2018. Tesla did not post a price for the all-wheel drive version.
