$35,000 Tesla Model 3

'll Be Damned, the $35,000 Tesla Model 3 Is Actually Here

The three-year wait for the most affordable version of the Tesla Model 3 appears to be over.

By Andrew Moseman
TESLA

The long-promised $35,000 Tesla has arrived.

It's been three years since the Model 3 was first revealed to the world, and even longer since Tesla CEO Elon Musk first teased the idea of an electric car for the masses. But now, the least-expensive, base model of the 3 is available on the Tesla website. Delivery is said to happen within two to four weeks.


The base Model 3 is rear wheel drive only. It'll do 0 to 60 mph is 5.6 seconds, Tesla says, and reach an overall top speed of 130 mph. Range is listed at 220 miles. Road & Track says: "There's also a model dubbed "standard range plus" with a 240 mile range, a 5.3 second 0 to 60 time, a 140 mph top speed and a more premium interior for $37,000 before incentives."

The cheaper version of the car is also simpler on the inside. Car and Driver says it retains the glass roof that dominated the top of the Model 3, as well as the huge touchscreen in the center. But the seat and steering wheel adjustments are manual here, the stereo system is simpler, and the seats are cloth, not leather.

This is a big moment for Elon Musk and company. Of the hundreds of thousands who signed up (and plunked down real money) to get on the Model 3 waiting list in 2016 were enticed by the promise of the $35,000 Tesla. But as the company has spun up production of the car, it started with the most expensive (and thus most profitable) versions of the Model 3—those with features such as extended range, all wheel drive, or dual motors, which can push the electric car's price up above $50,000, $60,000, or even $70,000.