On March 19, 2016, Tesla announced the Model 3, an electric car like no other. With the ability to go over 200 miles on one charge and 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds, it’s no wonder people were lining up and down the street to pre-order this radical car. If I myself were not 100% completely, utterly broke I would have put down the $1000 security deposit on the spot. As a well-rounded dork/nerd, I’m instantly in love with any technology that should have been invented years ago, like interactive holograms, teleportation pods, and invisibility cloaks. Let’s be honest: the technology industry has fallen off the track of innovation and radical progress for a while now. We’ve become complacent and more concerned with sticking to proven techniques to turn a profit than improving our future by exploring the unknown or taboo. But that’s okay, because it seems as though companies like Tesla are starting to get the hint that we as a society are tired of this mentality and want change. With their drive for quality and perfection, ability to look beyond immediate results, and relentless push for the extraordinary, Tesla could potentially be the start of a business revolution. All they have to do is overcome the obstacles stacked against them. Fortunately, the people’s response to the Model 3 is not one of them.
According to Forbes, with just the pre-orders from its first week on the market, the Model 3 would rank as the sixth best-selling vehicle of 2015. Let’s put that in perspective: Tesla made more reservations in one week than most car companies can sell of their best car throughout the entire year. I don’t think there has been such a frenzy for a car since the Model T. Ignoring the ginormous number of pre-sale orders, traffic to the Tesla website also increased 798% after the announcement of the Model 3. In the first three days, the site hit 7 million views per day. These numbers show that people are ready for something different, and they’re looking to Tesla to make that happen — that redesigning the body of a car won’t cut it anymore. That we want more.
And the Model 3 delivers on more. Features like its awesome mileage and speed are the least of what this car has to offer. Tesla isn’t going to make a product and then leave their customers hanging; they plan to make recharging free. There are already a few stations operational that allow previous models to recharge at no cost, but in anticipation of the commercial Model 3, they’re starting to pop up everywhere. If you go to Google News and type in “Tesla recharge stations,” you’ll get a list of places all around the world that have recently put up or plan to build a station. In other words, you won’t have to be on the constant lookout for a Whole Foods or worry that you’ll be stranded on the side of the road.
If you’re amazed by everything Tesla has accomplished and plans to accomplish, then you’re human. If you are skeptical about their ability to deliver such incredible feats, then you’re human. Despite all of this hype, there are many obstacles in their way: for starters, whether or not the gigafactory manufacturing the Model 3s can produce enough cars to meet customer demands. Status on the factory is ever-changing. Before this crazy affordable Model 3 (did I mention it’s only $35,000!?), Tesla was well-known for their Model S: an electric car with an average price of $70,000. Due to its substantially higher price, their total output of the Model S was around 50,000 units in 2015 — an order they were barely able to pull off. Now they have requests for over 400,000 units for the Model 3 come 2017. Basically, without this factory, there’s no way for them to keep up. That’s a daunting thought for consumers who have already preordered. Still, despite this possible setback, Tesla has every chance of success. They’ve already overcome great odds and met customer expectations once with the Model S; this is no different.
My dear readers, I do believe the future is now. With $14 billion in revenue on a product that doesn’t even have a finished prototype, the Model 3 is an affordable electric car that has taken the world by storm. Hold on tight, because if this is any indication of what is to come, it’s going to be a historic and life-changing ride. Are you ready?