Elon Musk’s business strategy has always been to focus on penetrating the premium market before trickling some of that tech down to the masses. Most, even those who had confidence in his product, believed that the Tesla brand would wither before it could really take off.
At E3 this year, Tesla put the nay-sayers in their place when they announced that the Model 3 would be launched in 2017 and would be available in both sedan and crossover bodystyles.
Sure, the US$35,000 asking price is still a lot more than your average passenger car buyer is prepared to fork out, but it’s still progress. The previous Model D was about double that and was targeted at those looking at a mid-to-full-sized luxury car. This time, Tesla are aiming for those in the market for an Audi A4, BMW 3-Series or a Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
The Model 3 is joined by the previously announced Model X, which is a 7-seater SUV that comes complete with a falcon wing door mechanism and dual electric motors for its all-wheel drive system. The Model X is expected to share the same price tag as the Model S, which puts it around the US$70,000 mark.
