[holysmoke]

In order to be as fair as possible, there will be a different queue for each region. And as a thank you to our current owners, existing customers will get priority in each region.

Model 3 production is scheduled to begin in late 2017. When production begins, we will begin deliveries in North America starting on the West Coast, moving east. As we continue to ramp production, we will begin deliveries in Europe, APAC and right-hand drive markets. It is not possible to ship to all regions simultaneously because regulators in each part of the world have slightly different production requirements. Staggering deliveries in this way also allows us to provide the best possible customer experience.

We recognize that everyone wants to get their Model 3 as quickly as possible. Our overarching goal is to maximize total customer happiness within the bounds of what is physically possible.

https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/reserving-model-3


Yes, we're not gonna be #1 in line... but its not like they won't ship!

[Jeeper1941]

Nice gimmick. Tesla is the motor equivalent of Apple when it comes to marketing "desirable" products, that after you peel away the skin, are rubbish underneath.

Electric cars aren't "green". Electric cars need to be light, which means they include a lot of high-performing metals. The lithium in the batteries, for example, is super light and conductive; that’s how you get a lot of energy without adding a lot of weight. Other, rare metals are present throughout the car, mostly in the magnets that are in everything from the headlights to the on-board electronics. These rare metals usually come from environmentally destructive mines. Rare metals only exist in tiny quantities and inconvenient places, so you have to move a lot of earth to get just a little bit, which is definitely not environmentally friendly.

Example: In the Jiangxi rare earth mine in China, rare earths amounted to 0.2 percent of what gets pulled out of the ground. The other 99.8 percent which is now contaminated with toxic chemicals is dumped back into the environment. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1042/of2011-1042.pdf).

And how and where are the spent batteries going to be disposed of eventually? They can't be recycled.

Hydrogen on the other hand is truly green. Tesla should have invested in hydrogen technology instead of electric.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/rene...n-at-any-speed

[volkman10]

Some more info on the 'near' production built Model 3

floor the accelerator pedal during our quick jaunt, and the Model 3 leapt to an indicated 60mph in what felt like around four and a half seconds, with the torquey, jet-like acceleration typical of electric cars.

riding in one of the dual-motor all-wheel-drive cars, which offers better traction and performance than the basic rear-drive car. An impromptu slalom showed that body lean was well controlled - no surprise with the battery and motor mounted so low

Interiors,

Model 3's interior, which is so simple as to be nearly stark. The cabin is dominated by a large touchscreen; it's mounted horizontally rather than vertically as in other Teslas, giving the appearance that someone has left a laptop on the dashboard

Speed and gear selection are displayed in the upper corner of the screen, with a strip of climate controls at the bottom and the rest of the video real estate split between the map display and stereo controls. Unlike other Tesla models, that's it for instrumentation—in fact, that's it for anything. Aside from a small squared-off steering wheel, the dash is nothing more than an unadorned strip of black and white, with a center console bisecting the front bucket seats. It's the kind of interior we expect to see in a concept car

the Model 3's windscreen doesn't extend into the roofline; instead, they've saved that treatment for the rear window, which extends clear up to the car's B-pillars. A large sunroof over the front seats completes the illusion of a nearly-all-glass roof. The glass roof also improves rear-seat headroom, while the front seats have been pushed forward for more legroom. The six-footers riding behind us said that legroom was acceptable and headroom surprisingly generous

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tesla/m...-3-ride-review

[kartavya]

Love the car and the fact that India is on the list. But I would personally wait a bit before even giving them the order amount. The car is still probably 2 years or so away from India and you'd definitely want some infrastructure before even putting a booking amount. The lines arn't going to be long in India considering it is not a cheap car so waiting here shouldn't be an issue.

On a side note, I am not at all a fan of the no speedometer approach, I do have my eyes on the speedometer and I can't keep on looking at the screen for it always. I have never got used to it be it the Tata car or the Etios.

[motorhead16]

Here are some calculations I made for the Model 3. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If the range is rounded down to 340 km, then over five working days it turns out to be 68 km per day. I guess its safe to say that a majority of us drive less or equal to this distance everyday. If you purchase the 70 kWh option, then at today's electricity rates, each full charge will cost you close to 486.5 INR. Consider that over four weeks and you have a monthly cost of 1946 INR for charging the car alone. Not bad considering the awesome performance that you would get for this price. Also if you want a more precise calculation, head over to Tesla's page for the model 3 and use the running costs calculator on that page.

Edit: Used kW instead of kWh

[motorhead16]

Originally Posted by Jeeper1941

Nice gimmick. Tesla is the motor equivalent of Apple when it comes to marketing "desirable" products, that after you peel away the skin, are rubbish underneath.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/rene...n-at-any-speed

While your argument about electric cars being not so "green" is absolutely true, the declaration that Tesla's products are rubbish underneath is completely judgmental and there is a massive amount of engineering that goes into building these cars, the likes of which nobody else has done so far in the automotive industry.

[Rehaan]

Interesting. I have quite a few things to say about this...

Firstly, this is brilliant marketing by Tesla:

What better way to create a buzz than to give the whole world the possible ownership of a car. People who put down that $1000 are also going to talk about it more. It's also a great way to gauge interest in various countries outside the USA.

Worst case: 2-3 years later, they just give you your money back!

Best case: In the 2 years time, they've sorted out a dealership network and some charging points in your country.

Then of course there's the misc factors:
- Production is scheduled to start late 2017.
- So, with the huge waitlist and their 'Cali-first then eastward' delivery plan, Indians aren't going to see their car till 2018, or even later.
- When delivery time comes, depending on import taxes and the hybrid/electric scene here, it might not sound like such a good deal anymore.


Secondly, has Tesla forgotten a big reason why the Tesla S was so successful?

When they unveiled the S, it was beautiful. More than that, it looked like a normal car. Not some George Jetson contraption, or super-futuristic cyborg-mobile. Small touches like the big psuedo-grill at the front made the Model S a well designed car that fit in perfectly with the rest of the gas guzzlers.

Think about it. If i give you clothing which is going to be the "awesome new style" 5 years in the future -- chances are you will not want to wear it today.

The Model 3 is a little too "futuristic" and "electric car" looking. For something that's going to be more mass-market than the Tesla S, I don't think this is a good move. Same applies for the interiors too.

Look at the Model 3 vs the Model S


Then there's the India specific issues I'm seeing. No AC vents! Try getting into a car on a May afternoon and not having the ability to blast cool air directly at you... not fun. Of course, there might be some app-controlled pre-cooling option. Then there's the rear window that goes up way too high. Anyone who's sat in the back of a car on a tropical afternoon will know that the back of your neck burns. With this big rear windsheild, the Model 3 might even facilitate heat-stroke.

Originally Posted by Sahil

I don't see how a car is being made available in India without any dealer/service support or presence of the brand whatsoever.

Worst case : It's like importing a <obscure unsupported brand here>. Eg. Hey check out my Isdera Commendatore... just got it imported last week, after waiting 3 years.

Medium case : I really love my Model 3. Only pain is sending it to Delhi once a year for service. Should have just bought a Ferrari...heh.

Best case : They actually have a service center in major metros.


That said, with a huge range of 215 Miles (344 km), charging infrastructure isn't really too much of a concern. Daily running, and even the weekend trip to the nearest hillstation are manageable only with your at-home charging point.


Will certainly be interesting to see how this pans out!

[Nagato710]

Originally Posted by //M

On another note, IIRC the King of Bhutan drives a Tesla Model S. Any idea how is the supporting infrastructure in Bhutan?

Our King does not own a Tesla S. Its our Prime Ministers. He was gifted a Tesla S a couple of years back. The charging point I think is at his office. He had once written that he drove it about 250 kms on a single charge within our mountainous country. We often see him using it for purposes like chauffeuring/showing guests like Shri Mamata Banerjee around Thimphu.

Our country has many Nissan Leafs though. There are a couple of free charging points installed for them in the city.

[//M]

Originally Posted by Nagato710

Our King does not own a Tesla S. Its our Prime Ministers. He was gifted a Tesla S a couple of years back. The charging point I think is at his office. He had once written that he drove it about 250 kms on a single charge within our mountainous country. We often see him using it for purposes like chauffeuring/showing guests like Shri Mamata Banerjee around Thimphu.

Our country has many Nissan Leafs though. There are a couple of free charging points installed for them in the city.

Oops my bad, I got confused between King and PM. Its good to know that to support Nissan Leaf's, free charging points have been/are being installed in the country.

Hope this will encourage few more owners to switch to electric cars in the near future. Great initiative !

[aim120]

Originally Posted by Jeeper1941

Nice gimmick. Tesla is the motor equivalent of Apple when it comes to marketing "desirable" products, that after you peel away the skin, are rubbish underneath.

Electric cars aren't "green". Electric cars need to be light, which means they include a lot of high-performing metals. The lithium in the batteries, for example, is super light and conductive; that’s how you get a lot of energy without adding a lot of weight. Other, rare metals are present throughout the car, mostly in the magnets that are in everything from the headlights to the on-board electronics. These rare metals usually come from environmentally destructive mines. Rare metals only exist in tiny quantities and inconvenient places, so you have to move a lot of earth to get just a little bit, which is definitely not environmentally friendly.

FYI,Tesla in all their cars (roadster,model S,X and III )don't use magnets in their motor,rather they use a Induction Motor.
From the name of the company which is after Nikola Tesla ,whose invention was the AC induction motor.
Apart from speakers ,they don't use magnets .Only electro magnets are used .

[M00M]

Originally Posted by holysmoke

https://www.teslamotors.com/blog/reserving-model-3


Yes, we're not gonna be #1 in line... but its not like they won't ship!

Congrats on the booking. Did you get a que number yet ? Model 3 doesnt seem to show the AC vents, is it going to come without AC ?

[LoneRidder]

Originally Posted by Sahil

When you are king, is that ever going to be a worry?

It's irrelevant how a king maintains his Tesla, if there is a common man somewhere using a Tesla without a service/dealer support it would be interesting to see how that is done.

Oh! It’s that too sorry to make a casual comment. This small country isn’t just pristine, isn't just carbon neutral, it's carbon negative! And it leads by example! There is lot to learn for all of us!

Lovely talk by Tshering Tobgay (the opposition leader?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCLZT5m6jaA

[volkman10]

Awesome Tesla Model 3, Official videos!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw42rL0Y_gY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8c1imE7Spc

Source- Tesla Motors

[sreeharipv]

Tesla fan here!

I'm ecstatic that Tesla is even accepting reservations in India. All the apprehensions that I read on this thread are out of place.

• This car doesn't need a huge service network because of the inherent simplicity of the drive train and considerably fewer moving components. The service intervals are much much wider than a gasoline car.

• Charging infrastructure is no big deal. One super charging location between all major city pairs would do just to start with. They don't cost all that much. And unlike North America, we don't drive half as much on a weekly basis. One full charge is easily 1-2 weeks for most.

• Once Tesla is here and people learn about how better EVs are, the mind set will change and that will force that TATAs and Mahindras to do something.

I've driven them multiple times, all it takes is one drive!

[holysmoke]

Originally Posted by M00M

Congrats on the booking. Did you get a que number yet ? Model 3 doesnt seem to show the AC vents, is it going to come without AC ?

I'm sure they'll have AC.
Haven't got a number yet! Although I should get it in a few days I guess.