Tesla’s affordable Model 3 electric car officially unveiled

forcegt tesla model 3 front quarter

Tesla has unveiled its entry-level Model 3 at its design centre in Hawthorne, California this afternoon. Billed as an affordable electric car, the Model 3 is the fourth model from the electric car manufacturer.

Set to go on sale in the US next year starting from US$35,000, Tesla says it has already received 115,000 pre-orders in the past 24 hours, with customers paying US$1,000 deposit each.

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The Model 3 is essentially a mini-me version of the successful Model S. It is claimed to have a 345km range per charge and takes 6.0 seconds to hit 100km/h from a standstill.

The car sports a grill-less front facsia and coupe like profile. Like its more expensive sibling, the door handles are hidden.

forcegt tesla model 3 interior

The Model S already has one of the largest infotainment screens in a vehicle, but the Model 3 trumps it with an even larger one. It extends from the dashboard on an arm and looks almost as big as a desktop computer screen.

Tesla claims their new car is more spacious and comfortable than similarly sized combustion vehicles, thanks to the batteries which are housed under the floor. This enables engineers to move the front seats forward and compress the instrument panel, giving rear seat passengers more room.

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Elon Musk announced the Model 3 will earn a 5 star safety rating (US) and comes standard with Tesla’s Autopilot hardware and safety features on the entire range. All versions of the car will come standard with Supercharging capability.

The Tesla Model 3 is now available for booking in Australia with a A$1,500 deposit. Bookings can be made here.

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