As you may have noticed, we are a little obsessed with electric vehicles. Also a little obsessed with Nikola Tesla. And a little with Elon Musk. Among other things, of course. We rarely sleep, so we can be obsessed with many people or things. We also don’t differentiate between people and things but not in a bad way. We like things.
So, the news of the day is that Tesla Motors is releasing a Model 3. It was unveiled on March 31. You can watch the ceremony here:
In the special Musk alphabet, perhaps influenced by Mars, 3 is the letter that comes after X, which in turn comes after S…. Maybe Martians are really into sibilants, and the next model will be known as SHhhhhh. Model S has been delivered for the past 4 years already, and you can get a used one for about $50,000, which is a couple of years’ salary for most people, and so, really not affordable.
The Oatmeal wrote a review of Tesla Model S a couple of years ago, calling it “a magical space car,” primarily because you can plug it into a regular outlet and because it accelerates within seconds without making any vroom-vroom noises. The Oatmeal also loves Tesla the Man and so preached about the fact that it was Tesla’s invention of the Electro-magnetic motor back in 1888 which allowed him to have the magical space car, and Tesla Motors to have billions of dollars. Nikola Tesla has a bunch of patents, by the way; most of them are various improvements on the motor, but some are also about an induction light bulb, a plane which takes off vertically, wireless electricity, and ship navigation things. His patents are all expired because he’s been dead a long time, but other companies have been using his ideas to make new products.
There was also one model before Model S, the Roadster, but it’s so old (10 years!), and has such a long name, and is no longer being manufactured, that no one really cares anymore. Model X started being delivered last year, and sold more than 7,000 models within the first 6 months. A used Model X sells for about $74,000. . . So, even less affordable than S.
Now, Model 3, or ☰, is meant to be truly affordable. Indeed, the Tesla Motors business model from the start has been about producing a super-expensive car (Roadster and Model S) first, and then use the revenue to develop a cheaper car. Starting price for a new one is $35,000. Deliveries begin at the end of next year, and you can reserve one for $1,000…. Get ’em while they’re hot?
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