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Tesla Motors Officially Confirms Model 3 Electric Vehicles Will Go On Sale In 2017

This article is more than 9 years old.

Tesla Motors has officially announced the name of its new all-electric vehicle: Model 3. Competing directly against the BMW 3 Series, the Model 3 will go on sale in 2017. The only vehicle Tesla Motors sells right now is the Model S, but it will launch the Model X crossover next year.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk said the company was originally planning to name the new vehicle "Model E." However, Ford Motor Company owned the trademark to that name and threatened to sue Tesla Motors if it was used. In an interview with Auto Express UK, Musk said that a friend suggested that Tesla Motors had the S for "sedan" and the X for the "crossover" so they might as well have the E too. "We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E – I thought this is crazy, Ford’s trying to kill sex! So we’ll have to think of another name," quipped Musk in the interview. Musk added that there will now be three bars to represent the new name "and it'll be S III X," referring to the Gen III model.

The Model 3 will be based on a new platform instead of using a cut-down version of the Model S and Model X. The Model 3 vehicle design will be driven by Tesla's VP of vehicle engineering Chris Porritt, who used to be the chief engineer at Aston Martin.

The Model 3 will cost $35,000 with a range of approximately 200 miles. The size of the Model 3 vehicle is rumored to be roughly 20% smaller than the Model S.  The batteries in the new vehicle will be manufactured at Tesla's future Gigafactory and would be compatible with Tesla's signature Supercharger stations around the world. Tesla Motors will reveal the Model 3 by 2016 with sales starting in 2017.

Tesla Motors confirmed the name officially in a tweet:

Gigafactory

Tesla's Gigafactory is a proposed lithium ion battery factory that is expected to open in the year 2020. Musk has narrowed down the site of the factory to four U.S. states: Texas, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. The cost to build the factory is around $5 billion and it should achieve roughly 30% reduction in production costs for Tesla vehicle batteries. In 2020, the Gigafactory may even potentially employ approximately 6,500 people and have battery production capacity to supply 500,000 Tesla vehicles per year.

Musk As CEO For 4-5 More Years

Last month at the annual company meeting, Musk told shareholders that he is intending to remain CEO of Tesla Motors for at least four to five more years, which is long enough to oversee the production of the Model 3. At the meeting Musk said “it is quite difficult being the CEO of two companies.” Musk also works as CEO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and chairman of SolarCity . Prior to working in these positions, Musk co-founded PayPal and X.com. He is ranked #148 in FORBES' World's Billionaires list with a net worth of $9 billion.

What do you think of the name "Model 3?" In your opinion, do you think it should be named something else or does it sound fitting? Let us know in the comments below!