Model 3 [Official] Tesla Model 3


The Tesla Model 3 is a battery electric powered mid-size sedan with a fastback body style built by Tesla, Inc., introduced in 2017. The vehicle is marketed as being more affordable to more people than previous models made by Tesla. The Model 3 was the world's top-selling plug-in electric car for three years, from 2018 to 2020, before the Tesla Model Y, a crossover SUV based on the Model 3 chassis, took the top spot. In June 2021, the Model 3 became the first electric car to pass global sales of 1 million.
Review from Road & Track:

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Tesla Model 3 Test Drive, Review - First Drive With the New Tesla Model 3
 
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Unlike most automakers, Tesla often makes changes to its vehicles without waiting for new model year updates. It introduces small design changes or big new features without any notice.

Those are normally welcomed changes, but Tesla has updated the Model 3 interior this week with a new headliner material and it has become somewhat of a controversial move.

Tesla updates Model 3 interior with new headliner material
 
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Unlike most automakers, Tesla often makes changes to its vehicles without waiting for new model year updates. It introduces small design changes or big new features without any notice.

Those are normally welcomed changes, but Tesla has updated the Model 3 interior this week with a new headliner material and it has become somewhat of a controversial move.

Tesla updates Model 3 interior with new headliner material
IMO I really dislike these "newer" type of headliner material, they feel thin, and rough to touch.
 
Model 3 has no alcantara, even though owners ordered with it.

That's tragic. If build quality is poor and functionality doesn't meet expectation, post-purchase customer service will cost Telsa a fortune. To avoid negative press they will have to attend customer issues at a moments notice.
 
@Centurion I think you accidentally gave Monster the wrong rating.


The Man Behind the Model 3: Franz von Holzhausen

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We talked with Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer, about the Model 3, his third Tesla car, and briefly about the Tesla truck and the new Roadster II—a surprise during the truck unveiling late last year. Von Holzhausen, a born American despite his Teutonic-sounding name, has deep industry experience, having created the Pontiac Solstice and heading Mazda design in California before being headhunted by Musk for Tesla. He is familiar with his company’s products, owning one of each model. “My kids love the Model X, especially the falcon-wing doors,” he says. “They’re 5 and 3 years old and think it’s fun.”

Automobile Magazine: What was the design brief for the Model 3?

Franz von Holzhausen:
It was essentially customer-driven. They saw the Model S as a great car, but there was a desire for something 10 to 20 percent smaller, BMW 3 Series or Audi A4 size. We thought the $35,000 price point would work. We wanted five seats, more interior space, and to keep the fastback silhouette.

AM: What was the timeline on the project?

FVH: From initial sketches to production launch was about two years. We made three prototypes, two of them operating vehicles. Once the mission was defined, our orders were to hurry.

AM: But you were late in terms of the announced dates.

FVH: We’re actually pretty close to the dates initially announced.

AM: What’s particularly special about the Model 3?

FVH: To keep the fastback profile, we eliminated the liftgate and used a normal trunklid. To keep a faster profile, we moved the structure ahead, to make sure the [head impact criteria] were all met. The big backlight is something we had experience with on the Model X windshield.

AM: What else did you bring forward from the S and X?

FVH: For instance, we knew that flush door handles were important, but we simplified the mechanism, so they are not as costly. We kept good aerodynamics for range as well as to make the car sporty. Not silliness, just clean and sporty.

AM: The $35,000 price point is exciting, but your own car you let us drive is more like $55,000.

FVH: Yes, with the premium interior package and 15-speaker audio system, 19-inch wheels, and other options, the price is higher, but the base cars will be really nice without any options.

AM: When did you decide to totally eliminate the grille and front trim?

FVH: That was a long time coming. We made the early cars less distinct from rivals but slowly came to this solution of how to keep a premium sports feel friendlier and happier than the luxury S. We changed that car, too, modifying 200 to 300 parts when the S was restyled without the painted “shield.”

Link: The Man Behind the Model 3: Franz von Holzhausen | Automobile Magazine


2018 Design of the Year: Tesla Model 3
A vanguard for electric vehicle design and styling

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Our selection of the Tesla Model 3 as Automobile’s 2018 Design of the Year might come as a surprise, given some of the shots the company has absorbed when it comes to its unreal stock market valuation and founder Elon Musk’s penchant for overpromising. Yes, the Model 3s on the road now have been cobbled up with a lot of handwork making up for deficient manufacturing experience and skills. But ignore the commercial drama and the commentary from the Musk haters and naysayers and take a good look at the car itself. It’s neither spectacular nor shockingly innovative. It’s just a really nice-looking, clean design that is instantly acceptable, despite the total absence of a traditional grille or representation of the same—as seen on the first Tesla sedans. The Model 3 is quite evidently an electric car, and its designers made no effort to disguise that fact.

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For several years now I’ve said the Tesla Model S is the best sedan I’ve ever driven. That’s no longer true. It’s not that I found recent Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Rolls-Royce sedans superior. Rather, I’ve done a few miles in the Model 3, which now holds the title of best four-door I’ve ever driven. Whatever the price point, heritage, styling, reputation, or prestige of its rivals, the Model 3 is quieter and quicker, and it rides better than anything else we might have considered for our Design of the Year award. And as a plus, it’s a much handier size than the Model S, far more practical for daily use in cities and suburbs.

For the Model 3 to succeed, Tesla must build it in large numbers out of sheet steel, not the aluminum used for the Models S and X. That’s no special trick for any of the traditional carmakers, and although some of Tesla’s executives do have extensive experience in the traditional “tin box” industry, it’s all new for the factory team as a group. To build this car in big numbers at a profit requires a lot of advanced robotic operations that are, to date, not working as planned or as they should. But we believe those problems will not hold them back for a long time, as long as the company doesn’t run out of money.

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Ultimately, none of this has anything to do with the virtues of this BMW 3 Series-sized car. It has a longer wheelbase, more perceived cabin volume, and a better, flatter, and more comfortable ride, and it’s a lot faster than most variations of the German car that has been the class standard for decades. The optional two-piece glass roof enhances the sense of space for up to five occupants, as does the ultra-simple transverse panel in front of the driver and passenger, punctuated by a huge screen in the exact center of the car. But that positioning does not mean a driver must turn his or her head to see vital driving data; there is a head-up display on the windshield that provides all the information you need to drive safely. A year ago when the car was first revealed without an interior we could see, Musk said the cabin would be “like a spaceship.” That has turned out happily to be inaccurate, at least if we compare it to the orbital craft we’ve seen so far. The cabin’s style and presentation is more modern Scandinavian than Soyuz, and it’s inviting.

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The front seats are comfortable, as are the two outer rear seats, but the center one accommodates only a small person. I sat in the outer back seat and found headroom excellent, but I did not ride there. Given the very flat ride, even better than the Model S, the weight of the batteries in the floor and the car’s lack of body roll, I’m inclined to believe the Model 3 will be perceived as a kind of magic carpet for four adults, not five. Still, that narrow person in the middle of the back seat will benefit from the high comfort level as well. And everyone benefits from the exceptionally agreeable interior ambience.

In semi-autonomous mode already available on all Tesla products, the car will, if cruise control is engaged, slow to a new speed limit by itself. It’s slightly disconcerting but quite easy to come to terms with. The same is true of its regenerative braking. All recent electric cars I’ve driven offer the driver a choice, a setting in which the car will slow down at about the same rate as a normal automatic-equipped car when you lift your foot off the accelerator and another mode in which the accelerator is almost the only pedal you need touch. You modulate the rate of retardation by the speed of lifting your foot, and in well-judged situations bring the car to a halt before touching the brake pedal to hold it in one spot. This solution is much more energy-efficient than letting the car feel more like a conventional vehicle. Tesla has an optional “creep” function that allows the car to move slowly if the brake pedal is released.

The Model 3 is not luxurious in an ostentatious, opulent sense. It’s much like the classic Eames chair or the deceptive simplicity of Apple products: Function is embodied in a minimalist manner, providing elegant simplicity rather than some “plain pipe rack” aesthetic like the original Citroën 2CV or something rococo like a Victorian silver tea set or some overdone Japanese sedans with “Tokyo by night” decor. We have the impression that the studied simplicity of both interior and exterior will let this car age extremely well, that in 10 years it will still look contemporary and beautifully understated, not old and irrelevant.

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There are a few unattractive aspects, as noted in our By Design column in October 2016. The integrated spoiler, however effective it might be, does look like an add-on and somewhat ruined the purity and relative elegance of the pumped-up fastback profile that provides such good headroom for the rear passengers. But all told, the Model 3 reminds us of some classic Pininfarina designs of the 1960s: simple and straightforward, perfectly proportioned with minimal extraneous detailing. It has all been done with unmistakably good taste. That’s a pretty good recipe for long-term success, whether for a fancy GT car or a family sedan.

Link: 2018 Design of the Year: Tesla Model 3 | Automobile Magazine
 
^^
That's a sweet looking paint and alloy combination. It's a shame that the $35,000 price tag is a pipe dream for the foreseeable future.
 
There is one negative tendency concerning electrical vehicles: the price of the Lithium has increased with 60% for the last year. And what will happen when the demand increases 10 fold or even more, without a big increase in the Lithium producing facilities. The price will go to the sky and el vehicles would become totally uncompetitive. The only winner will be Bolivia, with its big Lithium deposits and our friend Gianclaudio. Meanwhile, where is he?
 
There is one negative tendency concerning electrical vehicles: the price of the Lithium has increased with 60% for the last year. And what will happen when the demand increases 10 fold or even more, without a big increase in the Lithium producing facilities. The price will go to the sky and el vehicles would become totally uncompetitive. The only winner will be Bolivia, with its big Lithium deposits and our friend Gianclaudio. Meanwhile, where is he?

I'd heard it was cobalt that was the biggest issue commercially, because we'll all be shoveling money into one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

As soon as it becomes a problem, demand and supply will equalise... and the market size for EVs will be set at that level, until advances are made.

I can't help but feel that simply shifting dependence on limited resources around the globe is one reason the industry is still taking hydrogen seriously.
 
There is one negative tendency concerning electrical vehicles: the price of the Lithium has increased with 60% for the last year. And what will happen when the demand increases 10 fold or even more, without a big increase in the Lithium producing facilities. The price will go to the sky and el vehicles would become totally uncompetitive. The only winner will be Bolivia

Even if prices of Lithium increase by 300% from today's prices, it will only have a 1.6% impact on the price of EVs.

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Even if prices of Lithium increase by 300% from today's prices, it will only have a 1.6% impact on the price of EVs.

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Based on this table, only 5,1% of the price of the Lithium Ion battery is formed by this four commodities. Where do the rest 94,9% come from? The production process should be extremely expensive and maybe also the knowhow.
 
There is one negative tendency concerning electrical vehicles: the price of the Lithium has increased with 60% for the last year. And what will happen when the demand increases 10 fold or even more, without a big increase in the Lithium producing facilities. The price will go to the sky and el vehicles would become totally uncompetitive. The only winner will be Bolivia, with its big Lithium deposits and our friend Gianclaudio. Meanwhile, where is he?


Not only Lithium. Cobalt supply chain is even more problematic ... Copper prices (used in electric motors and in wires etc) are also expected to go up. Aluminum as well ...
 
Where do the rest 94,9% come from? The production process should be extremely expensive and maybe also the knowhow.

Ding ding ding! This is why the Gigafactory is the most critical component behind mass adoption of EVs. If you manufacture an entirely new battery that has been designed from the onset for electric cars, and mass produce it at a scale that the world has never seen before, it brings down the cost of EVs.
 
Based on this table, only 5,1% of the price of the Lithium Ion battery is formed by this four commodities. Where do the rest 94,9% come from? The production process should be extremely expensive and maybe also the knowhow.

I'm possibly not going with the latest specs here, but the P100D reportedly has 8256 Panasonic 18650B cells in it's battery....

This is how that battery looks...

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Each and every process that goes in to producing that ^, needs to be done 8256 times... every fraction of a cent something takes get's multiplied 8256 times... so even cheap and simple processes add up. Bringing the manufacturing in house certainly cuts out other peoples profit centers and helps you shave cost, but still - I have to think that simplifying the design of each individual cell would also play a massive part in the future.
 
I'm possibly not going with the latest specs here, but the P100D reportedly has 8256 Panasonic 18650B cells in it's battery....

This is how that battery looks...

18650_1.webp


Each and every process that goes in to producing that ^, needs to be done 8256 times... every fraction of a cent something takes get's multiplied 8256 times... so even cheap and simple processes add up. Bringing the manufacturing in house certainly cuts out other peoples profit centers and helps you shave cost, but still - I have to think that simplifying the design of each individual cell would also play a massive part in the future.
It doesn't look anything special. Not much different than a capacitor, only the protection valve. I don't see how the production cost could be 20 times higher than the price of the row materials. For me the above table is not correct. The lead acid batteries, for example, are extremely sensitive to the price of the lead and its forming a very substantial part of the price.
 
It doesn't look anything special. Not much different than a capacitor, only the protection valve. I don't see how the production cost could be 20 times higher than the price of the row materials. For me the above table is not correct. The lead acid batteries, for example, are extremely sensitive to the price of the lead and its forming a very substantial part of the price.

I'm not saying it's expensive because it's special, I'm saying that because there are thousands and thousands of the same thing, it makes production efficiencies pretty important.

The table isn't that clear, lithium vs. lithium carbonate could, for example, make a difference. It doesn't allow for graphite either... I'm certainly not an expert in this field, but when Musk says that only 2% of the battery volume is actually lithium, it does make me think that it should not be that dependent on the price of the materials, but I'd happily be corrected. It would be nice if Tesla wasn't so cagey about this stuff.
 
Cnet review:

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MKBHD First drive

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Surprise, surprise....

John McElroy from Autoline is probably the automotive journalist I've known about the longest, so for me he's as credible and informative as it gets.

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For years, we’ve heard criticisms about Tesla’s fit and finish, but now Sandy Munro—CEO of a Detroit-area consultancy that tears apart and studies automobiles—has seen a new Model 3 up close. His thoughts: “I can’t imagine how they released this.”


Autoline’s John McElroy spoke with engineering and manufacturing expert Sandy Munro about one of his company’s newest tear-down acquisitions: a Tesla Model 3. Munro was unimpressed with the build quality.

Munro seems especially frustrated by the fit and finish. He mentions the front doors, whose handles are too difficult to open, and whose glass seems to just bounce around inside the panel. As you can see in the image below, Munro notes an extra piece of glued-on sealing material for the driver’s window, saying:

This is an afterthought or something...You’re not supposed to just glue on another piece. Usually you take whatever’s wrong and pull it out and put another one in...Geez, I never saw that before.

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The head of the company that specializes in benchmarking also points out the panel gaps, saying:

"The gaps on this car are like—you can see ’em from mars. This is really, not so good."

He goes on later in the video, pointing out the big rear trunk panel gaps, remarking:

"Let’s just have a look at...the gaps. If we look over here, I can barely get my fingernail in. And if we look over here...I can almost put my thumb in. This is... very unusual...The tolerance stack-ups on this car are just, like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Not since... the ’70s or something."
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He continues, seemingly baffled by what he’s seeing:

"I don’t understand how it got to this point. These are flaws that we would see on a Kia in the ’90s or something...I can’t imagine how they released this. It’s just a surprise. A really big surprise for me.

In addition to the fit and finish issues, Munro also talks about how hard it’s going to be to tear into the Model 3, calling it a “miserable job,” and labeling Tesla engineers as “definitely electronics snobs.” He backs this up by showing how difficult it is to get to the “Front Trunk First Responder Loop,” which shuts off the high voltage system and disables the airbags. "

To open the frunk, where the loop is located, when the vehicle has no power requires sending 12-volts to two cables found behind a plastic trim piece in the bumper (see the diagram below). Munro also expresses frustration with the “Rear Pillar First Responder Cut Loop” at the rear pillar, which has to be severed with a circular saw.
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Munro also chides the Model 3's lack of a mechanical door handle in the rear. Up front, there’s a little lever in addition to the electric door-opening switch, but in the rear there’s not. In the case of an emergency that cuts the car’s power, Munro says, you’d have to fold the seats back and exit through the trunk. (Obviously, you could go through the front seats as well).

In addition, Munro notes the high efforts required to close the rear hatch, saying:

"This is really a heavy load. The efforts for this car are higher than almost anything we’ve ever seen. Not since the ’90s have Iseen closures like this. So that’s a bit of an issue as well."

Munro’s company Munro and Associations is an engineering consultancy known for reverse-engineering not just automobiles, but everything from airplanes to household items like rice cookers, to learn how they work. It’s worth noting that a representative for the company told me over the phone that Munro’s biggest automaker clients are the “Big Three.”

https://jalopnik.com/tesla-model-3-teardown-by-engineering-firm-reveals-qual-1822678045
 
I suppose Tesla fans will argue that actual build quality is secondary to the "self driving" capabilities and the car's environmentally friendly credentials. These fit and finish issues won't bother them.
 
And don't forget Tesla is a premium brand, offering premium products. At least allegedly.

It's unacceptable products with such poor fit and finish are delivered to customers.

It's obvious Tesla is counting on early adopters who are less critical to the product'' flaws. And therefore being able to deliver such poorly built cars.

That will definitely be over when the competitors finally start to offer better built rivaling products. i-Pace, EQC, iX3, e-tron quattro (coupe), e-mission etc

S & X models will be hit first. Heavily. Already in the next 2 years. Model 3 has a bit more time to evolve. 5 years or so.
 

Tesla

Tesla, Inc. is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. It designs, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles, stationary battery energy storage devices from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar shingles, and related products and services. Incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors, the company's name is a tribute to inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. In February 2004 Elon Musk joined as the company's largest shareholder and in 2008 he was named CEO.
Official website: Tesla

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