Late Tuesday night, Tesla Motors confirmed that a third-generation car called the Model III will be coming in 2017. The car will cost a mere $35,000, according to a report, half the price of the popular Model S. The pricing will position the vehicle to compete with the BMW 3-series.
Tesla’s confirmation came in a Tweet, responding to to an exclusive article by Auto Express magazine, which wrote:
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk has exclusively revealed to Auto Express plans for a new electric BMW 3 Series rival, including its name – Tesla Model III. There were rumours that a new smaller Tesla was to be called Model E, but in one of his most candid interviews yet, Musk revealed why he had to have a rethink on the name. “We had the model S for sedan and X for crossover SUV, then a friend asked what we were going to call the third car,” Musk told us. “So I said we had the model S and X, we might as well have the E.
Key to the new model, which Musk said should retail for around $35,000 (likely to equate to around £30,000 in the UK), is cheaper battery technology made possible by Tesla’s forthcoming Gigafactory.”