Tesla Motors gave a sneak preview Thursday of its Model 3 sedan, saying more than 130,000 people had ordered the car, even though it is more than a year away from production.The Model 3 is critical to the Silicon Valley automaker’s growth plans and to sustaining its lofty stock price. A new generation of Nissan Motor Co’s Leaf electric car is also expected to offer more driving range at a similar price.. GM is on track to beat Tesla to the market with its Chevrolet Bolt electric car, which GM says will launch late this year, offering about 200 miles of electric driving range and a starting price of around $35,000.05 in February after analysts cut price targets and revenue expectations.Fans had camped out overnight, queueing outside Tesla stores across California to put down deposits on the car in scenes reminiscent of the launch of Apple Inc products.
The compact sleek four door car with no grille features a roof that is a panoramic pane of glass from front to back. Tesla shares have jumped in recent days in anticipation of the Model 3 launch. Musk said that 115,000 pre orders had already been taken on Thursday alone for the car. Within a half hour, that number reached 137,600 in a rolling scroll projected onto a screen.The Model 3 will enter a crowded field of luxury and electric cars that includes gasoline fueled models such as the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series, and electric models such as the forthcoming Chevrolet Bolt EV from General Motors Co.Tesla says scale from the massive facility will cut the cost of its battery pack by 30 percent to enable the lower priced vehicle.The Model 3 is crucial for Tesla to reach its goal of selling 500,000 cars per year by 2020.
High expectations ahead of the unveiling have restored Tesla’s shares to around the $230 mark, recovering from a year low of $141.“It is important to the industry because it will signal whether or not Tesla Motors is a major threat to the status quo or just another wannabe car company with a fleeting chance for long term success,” said Kelley Blue Book’s Jack Nerad.Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of the Model 3 in Hawthorne, California outside Los Angeles to hundreds of Tesla owners and the media, saying the vehicle will go into production in 2017 at a starting price of $35,000. “We don’t have it for you tonight — just kidding!”Three Model 3s were driven onstage.“Do you want to see the car ” teased Musk, to screams from the audience in the hangar sized facility inside a Tesla design center. The success of Tesla’s Gigafactory, its battery factory near Gasoline chain saws completion in Nevada, is also contingent on the Model 3
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