Tesla Model 3 Will Be A Bargain At $35,000 Before Incentives

The Chevrolet Bolt is being touted as a serious competitor in Tesla’s future as a provider of mainstream electric vehicles, but Elon Musk has just swung favour back in his company’s direction by announcing the Model 3 will cost $35,000 - before EV incentives.

GM is marketing the Bolt as retailing at $30,000, but it comes with a caveat - that’s a post-incentive price. In the US you can currently claim a $7500 discount for going electric, so the Bolt’s true price would be $37,500 - after incentives the 3 would come up at a mighty appealing $27,500.

The Model 3 is a long way off yet, though, since the Model X SUV is due to go on sale first - interestingly, Musk revealed the X’s first model year production run has already sold out - meaning current incentives may not still be in place. That being said, it’s clear Tesla’s commitment to providing a quality, affordable EV is real. The 3 will be about 20 per cent smaller than the Model S, with many of the bigger car’s features presented as options on the 3 to keep costs down.

Jalopnik reports that Musk said “[The Model 3] will be way different from any other car on the road in a way that’s really useful and just doesn’t feel like a weird-mobile.” The Tesla CEO was speaking on stage at the Automotive News World Congress, and made other key points, also outlined in the Jalopnik article.

Musk reckons Tesla will be “first to market with autonomous features,” but acknowledges that people should be concerned about the safety of self-driving cars. He also wants a carbon tax to force car manufacturers to pay for their part in continuing to pollute the atmosphere, though his views on another future fuel technology, hydrogen, are incredibly negative, stating that the sooner we give up on it the better.