There is a lot of interest around the third-generation vehicle offering from Tesla Motors, and for good reason. With a potential starting price of $35,000, a 200-mile range and hinted to come in both sedan and crossover flavors, this is the electric vehicle that could take the mainstream market by storm. If the design and performance catches the public's attention like the Model S, then not only could the EV automaker move toward its factory's max production capacity of 500,000 units a year, it would likely spur the traditional automakers to up their game significantly and truly begin the shift away from internal combustion.
While the anticipated timeline for the future Tesla – it might go by the appellation Model E (an early rumored nickname was "Blue Star") – has customer deliveries happening by 2017 at the latest, we are anxious to see what it's going to look like. While speaking in Munich the other day about plans for the German market (and disparaging hydrogen fuel cells), the CEO confided to the crowd that the third-generation car is presently at the sketch stage and should move to a clay model around the middle of next year, with the prototype being finished about six months after that. His best guess was somewhere in the 1st quarter of 2015, though we imagine we won't have to wait that long for at least a glimpse.
Another bit of next-gen news? How about a larger battery option. Sure, the promise of 200 miles will definitely draw in a sizable amount of people, but offering similar range as the 85-kWh Model S would probably prove to be even more popular than the base package.
Source: Autoblog Green
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment