Tesla model 3 is the safest car on the road

Tesla Model 3 safest car on the road - Business Insider

Despite some bad negative reviews from some "authorities" the model 3 continues to push the envelope of technology and safety. And this is only the beginning. The car continues to get better with each Over The Air improvement and refinement. Legacy automakers have a lot of catching up to do.

 

Elon has a history of sharing technology with the industry. His primary goal is not to make money, but to make the world a better place to live.

A Tesla Model S ran into the back of a firetruck parked in the roadway in Utah - driver was texting on her phone. She hit the firetruck at 60 mph and totaled the car. Driver escaped with a broken ankle and a citation for not maintaining control of her car. RWD electric cars are inherently safer because the entire frunk area can be used as a crumple zone.

 

Many people miss the point that Elon isn't really in the auto manufacturing business, he is in the make the world a better place to live business. His goal isn't to be the largest auto manufacturer, his goal is to demonstrate that BEV technology is a viable and profitable concept for personal transportation and FORCE the legacy auto maker to jump in with both feet to protect their market share. Tesla may open one each assembly plants in Europe, China, India, and a second in Eastern US, but that decision is sometime in the future. Tesla has already put pressure on the legacy auto manufacturers as they try to play catch up.

 

Yes, that is what my drift is.

 

Elon stated in March, 2016, that the $35K model 3 would be available in about 3 years (March 2019). The $35K car will now be available in Q4/2018 ahead of schedule. Elon has stated the base $35K model will have ~20% profit margin.

Elon said he was overwhelmed by the ~500K pre-orders within the first 30 days of introduction in March, 2016. He said he would have been pleased with 100K pre-orders. Consequently, he rushed a high margin $49K model into production and delivered the first cars in July, 2017. As of the end of May, he will have delivered ~25K of those cars in 11 months.

Tesla is currently building ~4K model 3 cars per week in three, 8 hour shifts, 7 days a week. The Fremont facility will be closing for a week for re-tooling to build 6K cars per week by the end of June. Elon is predicting a model 3 build rate of 10K cars per week by the end of the year.

It appears certain that Tesla is timing deliveries so that the 200K threshold for the maximum Federal tax credit will occur about the first week in July. That will give Tesla purchasers 6 months (until 12/31/2018) to take advantage of the full tax credit. That means as many as 150K model 3 (including the $35K base model) would be eligible for the $7500 tax credit.

Elon has said Tesla will show a profit by the end Q3/2018. So to the answer the questions:
- cash flow will be profitable by the end of Q3, when the $35K car will be delivered.
- current reservationists show that they will be adding options to the $35K base model, it just won't be for the $9K long range option (I won't be).

 

That is simply not the case. If you research the data, way more Prius drivers have moved to model 3 than model 3 reservationists have moved to a Bolt. The BIGGEST complaint about Bolt is no Supercharger system. Consequently, the Bolt is a $40K "around town" car and it is difficult to justify the cost.