A Tesla spokesperson confirmed today that the official price for the all-electric affordable Tesla Model 3 sedan will be $35,000 before incentives, and way cheaper with incentives when it goes on sale. That’s something to get excited about, sure—if we didn’t already know all of this months ago.
I bring up the affordable selling price of the upcoming Tesla Model 3 (again) because many, many, many outlets ran stories today claiming that the new electric car will be “a lot cheaper than expected.”
I’m not entirely sure what they were expecting.
Tesla Motors, via CEO Elon Musk, has been saying for over a year that it would do everything it could to introduce the Model 3 at a market price of $35,000 and an electric range of at least 200 miles. It was said here, and here, and here.
Now the news today has largely been how much below that starting price the Model 3 will actually sell for, once you count up the thousands of dollars in federal and state incentives for electric vehicles.
However, there has also been a $7,500 tax credit for every other Tesla model (and hybrid or electric model on the market, for that matter) that’s been introduced, so that isn’t new information either.
Basically, the Tesla Model 3 will come to market at exactly the price we all (should) have been expecting. A market price at $35,000, a federal tax incentive taking off $7,500, and then throw on that whatever the individual state incentives are for where you buy your Model 3.
This truly is an affordable Tesla, clearing well below $30k. Just don’t expect the lowest trim to be as magical and wizarding as the rest of the company’s lineup. Elon Musk has hinted that the cheap factor comes cheap. However, it may not come on time, which (for now) should be next year.
Pictured: Tesla Model S Concept
Contact the author at justin@jalopnik.com or @WestbrookTweets.