The $35,000 Tesla Model 3 is Really, Actually Here

Sam McEachern
by Sam McEachern

After years of promises and delays, Elon Musk has finally delivered on his promise of bringing a $35,000 Tesla Model 3 to market.

The $35,000 Tesla Model 3 comes with rear-wheel drive and the 220-mile ‘Standard Range’ battery pack, which provides a theoretical driving range of 220 miles. The base model includes cloth seats, manual seat and steering column adjustment and plastic trim, but it still features maps and navigation and four USB ports.

Customers can also upgrade to the ‘Standard Range Plus’ model for $2,000 more, which adds a ton of features such as 12-way power adjustable front and rear heated seats, satellite-view maps with live traffic info, power folding and auto dimming side view mirrors, a 14-speaker audio system and more. This model also has an extra 20 miles of range and will sprint from 0-60 mph in 5.3s instead of 5.6s.

The automaker said that to “achieve these prices while remaining financially sustainable,” it has shifted its sales strategy to online only and plans to close the vast majority of its 378 brick and mortar retail stores.

“Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected,” the company said in a statement.

The company announced a variety of over-the-air firmware upgrades this week as well. These will increase the range of the Model 3 long range rear-wheel drive to 325 miles, increase the top speed of Model 3 Performance to 162 mph and add an average of approximately 5% peak power to all Model 3 vehicles, the company says.

SEE ALSO: Porsche Taycan vs Tesla Model S: Which EV is Better?

Finally, Tesla plans to address its slow service system going forward and improve that aspect of the ownership experience for new and existing buyers.

“At the same time, we will be increasing our investment in the Tesla service system, with the goal of same-day, if not same-hour service, and with most service done by us coming to you, rather than you coming to us,” it said. “Moreover, we guarantee service availability anywhere in any country in which we operate.”

The $35,000 Tesla Model 3 is available to order through the automaker’s online store now.

This article originally appeared on HybridCars.com

Sam McEachern
Sam McEachern

Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.

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