Tesla Releases 35K Model 3: Time to Buy?

This week, Elon Musk and Tesla threw the EV community into a frenzy by releasing news of the long-awaited $35,000 Model 3. If you have ever thought of owning a Tesla, or any electric vehicle, I am writing this article just for you (not the naysayers who will surely comment).

First and foremost, if you answered yes to my question above and you have never driven a Tesla, then you must schedule a test drive...and quickly! No...This isn't a hard sell to buy a car, but merely a warning that Tesla is moving to an all online sales approach and will be closing most of their retail stores soon. No more test drives.

The Test Drive:

So let's start where my Tesla experience began. Like many people, it began only in my imagination. For the past several years, most of the cars were priced somewhere between $75,000 and $100,000, well outside of my price range. As stated, the though of driving a Tesla was the thing of dreams, but how do you dream of driving a car that is so much different than everything else on the market? You don't. You can't. You must experience it.

About that test drive: In mid December, I was driving by the Tesla Service Center in Wexford, PA and decided to go inside. Within seconds, the courteous salesperson had me driving a Model 3. My first reaction: This car felt like flying in a spaceship that had traveled back from the future.

If you have never driven an electric car, the experience is a bit strange at first. The car has no transmission, and therefore no gear shifting, which is one of the first things people realize. Second, the power can be frighteningly fun. We drove for about 10 minutes before I realized that I was in a performance model. Translation: Hold on to your head when you hit the "gas"! It accelerates from zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds, which (for most of you) is the fastest car you will ever have driven.

Next: You need to experience the current state of the art in autonomous vehicle technology. I hail from Pittsburgh, where this technology is being developed, so my expectations were very high. They were met. This car can basically drive itself from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. with very little human intervention (except to actually connect the Supercharger cable to the car).

The Charging Infrastructure:

The split second after you fall in love with the driving experience, a little voice inside of your head starts asking that nagging question: Where to charge? Don't worry. There's an app for that. By downloading Plugshare, you can see the hundreds of superchargers and destination chargers available across the nation. In all honesty, most of your charging will be done at home.

The cost of installing a home charger can vary widely. For many people, the cost will be as much as $2,000, but for others it may cost far less. I was fortunate to have a garage right near a laundry room. Because my dryer uses natural gas, I had an unused 220 outlet and was able to hire a licensed electrician who moved the receptacle into my garage for $69. That outlet provides my car with 23 miles per hour of additional range and has proved to be far more than I actually need.

The $35,000 Car:

The $35,000 Model 3 has been a mythical creature that many people believed was only in Elon Musk's imagination. The darnedest things about entrepreneurs though; they have an uncanny knack for taking ideas and making them real.

In the coming weeks, people will begin receiving the Standard Model 3, which still drives well over 200 miles on a single charge and benefits from a rapidly expanding supercharger infrastructure. More good news? The federal tax still remains in effect, and with the state tax rebate (in PA) still hanging strong, buyers benefit from nearly $6,000 in combined benefits.

My Experience:

After the test drive, which included an extended trip to my house to find out if my charing situation would work, I starting crunching numbers. With a bit of torturing to the figures, I was able to make the case (mostly to my wife) that the car would cost far less than our Acura MDX, especially after figuring in the federal and state tax credit, as well as the $130 per month in net savings on fuel.

So I bought the car and all hell broke loose. (Early adopter taxes) My first two weeks could only be described as @#)(*&!'D. My car experienced multiple issues, including a faulty charge port, a failed door seal and a defective rear-view camera. All of that was compounded when some )(#&*($* hit my car in a hotel parking lot and then took off.

With all of that said, Tesla has amazing customer service. In many cases, they will send a repair crew to your location and fix the car on site. In my case, they simply loaned me a $100,000 Model S for a couple of days, which made me forget all my worries. They also compensated me financially for my troubles (without me asking).

Long-Term Ownership:

With 3,000 miles now on the odometer, I can honestly say that I have adapted to EV life. Connecting to my charger every evening has become second nature. With a range of 325 miles, I rarely experience range anxiety (I have never drained my battery below 75 miles). On long inter-state trips, the Tesla Supercharger network is amazing. The speed of charging is only going to get faster, but this week I stopped at a Sheetz for 25 minutes and added 125 miles of range to my car....for free! Thanks Tesla and Sheetz!

Tesla is constantly improving the car via over-the-air updates. Last week, I received "sentry mode" (pictured above), which monitors the car while you are away. Had this download been a few weeks earlier, I would have caught that hit-and-run driver from the hotel. On March 15th, Tesla is rolling out another update that will add an additional 15 miles of range to the vehicle.

The Naysayers:

Unless you have been living in a cocoon, you have surely heard a steady stream of bad news about Tesla these past few months. It's a strange mix of anti-capitalists, anti-greenies and just plain miserable people that spread most of that news. Almost all of the people spreading the hate have NEVER ridden in or driven a Tesla. With that said, as I explained above, there are real and legitimate issues to consider when buying a car from a start-up company. Some of the complaints are real, but Tesla works quickly to make them right.

Time to Buy?

So is this car for you? That's a deeply personal question, but here's my suggestion: Experience a test drive before the retail stores close. Live in the Pittsburgh area? Call 878.332.6091 and ask for Kyle. He will set you up in test drive. Tell me how it goes!