TECHNOLOGY and YOUR MONEY

Tesla Model 3 is, sadly, no Model T or Beetle

The Tesla Mosel 3 now finally coming of the assembly line is not thr vehicle Elon Musk promised some 4 years ago: an  all electric within the price range of ordinary Americans - at a slight premium of $35,000.

Yes, the base model is still the promised $35,000, but Musk is promoting the car as a competitor to the BMW M3 and Audi 4 and its full upgrade package is now $78,000.

Add Autopilot and it would be far more.

So the Model 3 is not a 'people's car' like Volkswagens’ Beetle nor  the groundbreaking Ford Model T.

It will, like the Model S sports car and Model X SUV -- which both are over $100,000 -- be for the wealthy only.

The fact that the Model 3 is not recommended by Consumer Reports (G&M May 22, 2018, B7)  further hurts its image, marketing and potential sales. Its brakes are so bad that at 60 miles an hour it takes longer to stop than a Ford F150 full-size  pickup truck: a potentially dangerous  152 feet!

Consumer Reports also was not impressed by the layout and design of the controls and concluded the car has "big flaws".

The timing of the Model 3's arrival will also be a problem.

Small sedans are no longer in vogue among Anericans and other buyers who prefer the extra space of crossovers. 

Chrysler already announced almost 2 years ago it would eliminate its Dart and 200 models and GM and Ford have more recently made similar announcements.  

Finally, Toyota, the automotive world leader and inventor of electric cars with its Prius hybrid has given up on all electrics and is pursuing the next revolution: vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

So the Model 3 has hit the trifecta of disasters: too pricy for mass sales, serious design issues, and a size and shape that was popular 5 years ago but no longer.

NOTE:  Having all vehicles running on electricity was always a delusional idea.                                 

There is no way the American (or Canadian) electricity grid could even recharge 10% of America’s current 270,000,000 cars, vans, pickups and trucks overnight or at other times without frying the system instantly!

If Toyota is already leapfrogging beyond Tesla's  all electric vehicles and the efforts by traditional manufacturers to appease government targets for energy efficiency (based on line up models and not total vehicle sales), gas powered cars and SUVs and pickups and trucks will continue to rule the roads and highways of North America for at least the next 10 years.

Elon Musk and his investors should focus on the area in which he is succeeding – Outer Space.