Tesla Model 3 General Discussion

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The other 2 videos of the Model 3 I posted got taken down by the request of the owner of the car or Tesla (that car had an issue or something). But he has a second Model 3 in the shop now and also a new video. :)



I was pretty much set on the color already but whenever I see the red one I'm just not sure anymore. It looks so damn sexy in red. :P I'm curious what the interior will look like without the premium package though. So far they're only building the premium ones so that's all we get to see right now. He also had an interesting video about the aero wheels which got taken down as well, hopefully he shows that again on this red one. They're essentially just hubcaps that you can take off and there's a pretty nice wheel underneath it if you cover the lug nuts and place the Tesla logo thing in the middle. Here's a picture of it though.

tesla-model-3-aero-wheels-without-cap.jpg


Still think the 19" wheels look better but these definately aren't a bad choice as the standard wheels. And you can place the aero hubcaps on for better range if you need to.


Edit:
Another video. :D



Edit:
Aaaaand another. :P Compared to what Tesla have been showing so far since the announcement of Model 3, this guy has shown more in a few days already.

 
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Norway plans a “Tesla tax”
Norway is proposing a “Tesla tax” that would hit owners of the heaviest electric cars in a move that critics say will undermine the Scandinavian country’s standing as a pioneer of zero-emission vehicles.
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Link.

Abolishing Norway's tax exemptions for electric cars would slap thousands on the purchase price of a Tesla.


Norway, a world leader of zero-emission vehicles, on Thursday proposed a "Tesla tax" aimed at cutting a tax advantage granted to large electric cars in a heavily criticised move.

Electric cars, which have hitherto been exempted from heavy taxes imposed on other vehicles, accounted for 20 percent of new registrations in the Nordic country since the beginning of this year, an unprecedented market share in the world.

In a 2018 finance bill presented to the parliament on Thursday, the right-wing minority government suggested removing a one-off tax exemption for new electric cars weighing more than two tonnes.

The proposal was immediately dubbed the "Tesla tax" because it primarily affects the high-end models made by the American manufacturer. Buying a new Tesla X would cost about 70,000 kroner (7,500 euros, $8,800) more.

Justifying the proposed tax measures, Finance Minister Siv Jensen argued that these heavy sedans exhaust the roads as much as gasoline and diesel cars, and that the owners should therefore contribute.

The proposal has sparked a heated debate.

"It's a tax bomb," Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association Secretary General Christina Bu told AFP.

"This was unexpected by both the drivers and by the car industry and it sends a bad signal to the Norwegians and the world" for which the nation is often a model in this matter, Bu added.

She underlined that Norway has set an ambitious target of ending the sales of new cars with combustion engines as early as 2025.

The largest oil producer in western Europe, Norway has introduced many incentives to purchase electric cars.

In addition to generous tax exemptions, which critics say allow the richest to buy Tesla vehicles at a good price, Norway's electric car drivers benefit from free city tolls, free parking and the possibility of travelling in the bus corridors.

The government needs the support of other parties in the parliament to get its budget approved.

Its traditional centre-right allies have already spoken out against the "Tesla tax", noting a 2015 agreement has granted tax advantages for electric cars until 2020.
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Link.
 
That's the problem with politicians. They never keep their promises, their logic to create taxes (not only road taxes) is flawed and when they smell money, they will come back on their promises and create new taxes.
The exhaust of a combution engine creates polution, corrodes buildings (private and public :D) etc ... .
Cars destroys the road surface. The heavier the car, the more damage it can cause. No road tax for electrified cars is unlogical. Less road tax for electrified cars is how it should be.


EDIT:
Tesla lays off hundreds of employees amid Model 3 'production hell'
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Full story.
 
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For anyone else interested, here's a very long and informative video about the Model 3, they're showing pretty much everything you need to know. :)

 
From the close up review videos its very apparent that it really had to hit a price point and had to allocate a lot of that price to the battery and drivetrain. It looks like the materials, fit and finish of a budget car from the 90's but I suppose it fulfils its aim of being a relatively affordable entry into electric motoring.
 
Really liked Alex Roy's review, and it sounds like the car he drove was at the better end of the scale for quality, but I do think he's downplaying the importance of the quality issues we've heard about. However forward-thinking the car is it's not acceptable for it to have lower standards of panel fit than something Kia or Hyundai can sell for ten grand. Technology is one thing, but hitting the bare minimum achieved by every other company in the industry should be a given.

I can see what he's getting at when it comes to things like the simple dashboard design and connectivity too, but I'm still not quite sure the car is as game-changing as he's making it out to be. Tesla undoubtedly does some things very well, but its reasons for existing will diminish as major car manufacturers begin to offer similarly-capable vehicles for similar (or lower) prices. I wonder how many Model Xs Tesla will sell when the Jaguar I-Pace comes out for instance, and I suspect that by the time the Model 3 is in full production swing, Nissan will be quite happily churning out Leafs with similar range to many more customers globally.
 
I don't buy into Roy's review.

Like @homeforsummer states, he downplays the quality issues too much. And saying that after 2,600 miles the car was rattle free, makes me scratch my head. My truck had nearly 50,000 miles on it and several were off-road and it never rattled. I'd sure hope to hell a brand new car driving on mostly good roads for less than 3,000 miles wouldn't rattle.

Also, getting a good look at the interior, I can't help but think it's horrendous. That steering wheels looks straight out of an early 90's Korean hatchback.
 
ProjectWHaT
I finally got to see one up close today. Overall, the build quality didn't seem that bad.
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I got a good look at one this past week as well and it also didn't seem bad. There were some weird alignment issues with the rear hatch but there are so many different panels and lines in that area that it would be almost impossible to align them all perfectly.
 
Danoff
Interesting note from that:

"It delivered a blistering 0-to-60-mph time of 5.3 seconds, and its handling was reminiscent of a Porsche 718 Boxster. In fact, our testers found the Model 3 thrilling to drive."
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I know handling is a subjective thing but I'm extremely skeptical of claims like that. I know the low centre of gravity will play a part, but I'd be... surprised if a 3800lb sedan handles like a 3000lb mid-engined sports car with about the best steering feel and balance of any modern production car...
 
i heard that you cannot open the trunk lid if you are charging because it'll break off the charging port cover thing.

IMG_20171214_165224.jpg




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Also, Road and Track recently took the high performance dual motor Model 3 to Lime Rock.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/a22625274/tesla-model-3-performance-track-test/

080118-teslamodel3-lrp-4179-1533312007.jpg


It's a really good read with great pictures, but here are some points that I thought were important:

- they drove the "Tesla Model 3 Performance, with 450 horsepower, 471 lb-ft of torque and dual-motor all-wheel drive"
- battery and motors have a small temperature range (they note multiple times that ICE cars also have frequent temperature problems such as the Civic Type R and the Z06 and many other cars)
- "It sits slightly lower on new 300-treadwear Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, 235/35 on 20-inch wheels all around. The brakes are bigger, 14 inch two-piece bimetal rotors and four-piston fixed calipers up front."
- "Our testing measured a 0-60 time of 3.51 seconds, 0-100 in 8.84, and a quarter-mile of 12.07 seconds at 114 mph. Keep the pedal nailed, and you'll pass 120 mph in 13.69 seconds, on your way to a 155-mph top speed that's 15 mph higher than the base Model 3. The braking is prodigious, too, with 60-0 and 80-0 distances on par with a BMW M3 on carbon ceramics."
- "Ride height is down 10mm, but spring and damper rates are nearly identical [to the RWD model] ... Turn-in is crisper than on the base Model 3, and the car invokes its polyurethane bump stops a little sooner in hard cornering. It's the same familiar, charming Model 3 behavior, but sharpened."
- "The Performance version weighs 4037 lbs, some 227 lbs heavier than the rear-drive model, but it's distributed 50/50 front-to-rear. Working the mass to balance the car is easy. But any whiff of yaw brings out the invisible hand of stability control to steady the chassis."
- The Performance model has a "track mode". It doesn't disable traction or stability control, because "Torque output from the front and rear motors is constantly finessed by the car's computer controllers, reacting instantaneously to traction conditions and driver demands."
- Track mode: "This mode pushes the margins of stability control farther away."
- The Track Mode also modifies the regeneration when you lift off the throttle: "regen becomes a tool to help balance the car's chassis. Those light, delicate brake modulations you use to adjust a car's attitude mid-corner? Now you get them with a slight lift of the accelerator. It's instantaneous, braking and acceleration balanced from one pedal ... Lift-throttle oversteer, coded right into the software. In Track Mode, the regenerative braking is increased significantly—up to 0.3g of deceleration, compared to a max of 0.2g in street trim. When you lift in a corner, the regen tosses all the weight forward, loading up the front axle. The rear tires, now regenerating under much less weight, break loose. The stability control looks the other way. Presto! Oversteer."
- "nail the accelerator, the system would overdrive the front axle motor, powering the front tires to pull you neatly out of the corner in a controlled return to the line. You'll kill me for saying it, but this sport sedan has the same toss and catch that makes the best front-drive hot hatches such a joy to hustle"
- "With no engine noise to out-shout everything, and no concerns over shift points or powerband, you can focus on the most elemental part of track driving: The tires. I've never had such a clear understanding of the millisecond changes in front-end grip through a corner. You hear, and feel, everything going on at the contact patches, even at 100-plus."
- "At full speed, each lap of the 1.5-mile circuit burned up about nine miles of battery range during our testing."
- "Heat buildup is inevitable. After three or four laps at absolute tire-torturing full speed, the car begins to reduce power output. It's a balanced, gradual event. The motors and battery use cooling circuits that are independent but linked; as one component heats up, the system shifts cooling capacity where it's needed. It can even use the battery as a heat sink to shed excess thermal load from the motors."

080118-teslamodel3-lrp-4426-1533314523.jpg
 
The fit and finish on the Model 3 really is lacking, don't know whether it's a design issue or production issue or both but the car was designed it hit a price point and boy does it! These kind of things happened in the 80's.
 
Who would've thought that the Model 3 was poorly made since...you know they're screwing them together in a tent by a workforce that's probably burnt out.
 
Saw one again this morning (for real this time, not an X which I thought was a 3 before). Something is wrong with the shape of it from the front. Lemme see if I can find the right photo:

tesla-model-3-13.jpg


This photo is just about the right angle, although it looks pretty cool in this photo (the car photographs well). There's something about this view that makes the car feel like it has too many layers of car stacked on too many flat surfaces (look at the wheel arch in the back for example). The hood is raised above another surface that is higher than the fender surface, which bulges out from the sides. I know this is going to come off as completely daft but... it feels busy. Not so much in terms of fins or trim or vent holes or grilles but... just in terms of the number of sculpted flat bits. You can see how much the hood is raised above the lights by looking at the passenger side hood bulge in this photo.

I'm holding it to the standard of a $60k car of course. I'm very happy that it doesn't look like a transformer. But I still prefer the S in real life.
 

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