Tesla Model 3 News: 3 Reasons You Should Wait For The EV (And 3 Reasons You Shouldn’t)

Despite not even being on the market yet, Tesla’s newest EV, the Model 3, has already captured the attention of the green car community. With reservations for the soon-to-be-released vehicle breaching the 400,000 mark, it appears that buyers of the Model 3 are in for a pretty notable wait. With the auto industry welcoming the arrival of other formidable electric vehicles in the market, the incentives for those waiting on the Model 3 seem to be decreasing. Thus, here is a quick discussion on the reasons you should wait for the Model 3, and some reasons why you shouldn’t.

Why You Should Wait For The Model 3

The Model 3 is Tesla’s car for the masses, priced very aggressively at $35,000 for the base model. This places the EV from the luxury manufacturer well into the price range of most car buyers. The Model 3 is expected to be a game changer for Tesla, being a vital part of CEO Elon Musk’s grand plan to introduce green cars into the automotive industry en masse. Here are some compelling arguments for the Model 3, as noted by the carmaker’s fans.

The Model 3 might be Tesla’s best car yet – Sure enough, the Model 3 might lack some luxury amenities that are found on its more expensive brethren, the Model S, Model X, and the now-discontinued Tesla Roadster. Despite this, however, the Model 3 is engineered to be an electric vehicle that is as much a luxury car as its predecessors.

According to a report from EV-themed website CleanTechnica, the Model 3 would feature Tesla’s trademark performance, with the car being capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 in less than six seconds. The higher-end variants of the Model 3 are expected to hit the sub-3-second mark. Tesla’s most iconic innovation, Autopilot, would also be fully available in all Model 3 EVs. Couple this with a range of 200+ miles for the base model and the Model 3 becomes a vehicle that really seems to be well worth the wait.

Tesla vehicles are unlike others on the road – One thing that makes Tesla a very unique carmaker is the fact that it improves and updates its vehicles the same way that Google and Apple roll out their new mobile operating systems. Autopilot, which is arguably the most significant update Tesla has ever rolled out to its vehicles, was done completely over the air, with every Tesla owner receiving the new innovation without going to a service center.

The same was done for other improvements on its cars, with some tune-ups such as slight improvements in acceleration being rolled out for free to all Tesla owners. Safety features on Tesla’s vehicles are also the best in class, especially following the tragic Model S accident that claimed the life of a driver earlier this year. Currently, Tesla’s EVs are among the safest to drive on the roads. This particular approach has made Tesla unique from the competition, and it has worked in the carmaker’s favor.

Tesla is among the most experienced firms in the EV industry – It is quite ironic that one of the world’s youngest carmakers carries arguably the most experience in its niche. Tesla has made a name for itself as a manufacturer that focuses solely on EV production. Thus, there is practically no other carmaker in the world that comes close to Tesla when it comes to the mastery of electric vehicles. While the company has only been producing cars for less than a decade (the Roadster was released in 2008), the firm is one of the world’s most respected EV makers.

This shows a lot when it comes to updating and supporting its vehicles on the road. Currently, Tesla has an ever-growing number of superchargers between cities, with numerous destination chargers being placed in strategic locations across the country. There are so many Tesla chargers in the United States right now that drivers of the company’s EVs are used to having superchargers everywhere and service centers within 100 to 200 miles of major American cities. This is all set to improve as well, as Tesla continues to saturate the United States with charging stations and service centers.

With these in mind, it appears that the Model 3 would be a worthwhile wait. After all, the car is designed to be Tesla’s car for the everyman, much like Ford’s Model T back in the early 1900s. The Model 3 is therefore being created as a game-changer, which is precisely what the Model 3 seems to be. However, there are some compelling reasons why the EV is not worth the wait, either.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait For The Model 3

The Model 3 might be a revolutionary electric car, but it appears to be a long way off before those who reserved it could get behind its wheel. Here are some notable arguments against the Model 3, as noted by analysts and automobile fans alike.

The Tesla Model 3 would most likely be delayed – As it is, the wait for the Model 3 is already considerable, with the company’s most optimistic projections stating that the EV would start shipping sometime in 2017. However, even this timeline is extremely optimistic, with analysts expecting the Model 3 to most likely see a 2018 rollout date instead. Even Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley, who has a history of optimistic predictions about Tesla, has expressed his reservations about the Model 3’s release date.

The possible delays in the Model 3’s release date are not just plain pessimism either, since Tesla has already hit notable production delays in the past. This was made evident recently, as the EV maker struggled to meet the demand for its Model X SUV. Despite Tesla opening its Nevada Gigafactory for the production of Model 3 batteries, history is simply not on the side of the carmaker when it comes to meeting its vehicle’s projected release dates. With the Model 3’s production likely to experience a delay, those who are looking to purchase a Model 3 might be better off with other options.

There are other good EVs on the market – The last few years has seen the emergence of great EVs from other car manufacturers too. As Tesla started gaining ground in the automotive industry, the efforts of veteran carmakers to create equally green and desirable vehicles seemed to have doubled. Currently, the EV market is home to powerful and attractive options such as the Chevy Bolt EV, the Nissan Leaf, and even the radical Toyota Mirai. These are just the tip of the iceberg too, as the hybrid market also grows more solid by the year, populated by green vehicles such as the Toyota Prius and the Chevrolet Volt.

Most of these green vehicles that were mentioned fall under the same price range as the Tesla Model 3. However, these vehicles have one big advantage over Tesla’s everyman car: they are already in the market. Over the years, vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf have proven themselves to be extremely reliable, and new entries into the EV segment such as the Chevy Bolt EV seem to be specifically designed to take down the Tesla Model 3 vehicles. Thus, while owning a Tesla is practically the same as owning the EV equivalent of a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus, the fact remains that there are other, equally great options around.

Tesla is a newcomer in the auto industry – While Tesla has made great leaps in the EV market, the carmaker is quite inexperienced in the world of auto manufacturing as a whole. Tesla is quite unconventional as compared to other carmakers like BMW and Volvo, in the way that it is more of a tech company than a full-blown automotive firm. In a lot of ways, Tesla appears to be a tech company that just happens to be making electric vehicles.

This inexperience has been made evident in some of Tesla’s previous miscalculations. Numerous analysts stating that Tesla’s failure to meet its vehicle’s production demands and its tendency to announce overly optimistic goals is indicative of the firm’s lack of experience in the automotive field.

Should You Wait for the Model 3?

At the end of it all, it all boils down to the buyer’s priorities. For those who are looking for the ultimate EV experience with all the bells and whistles included, waiting for the Model 3 might be a better option. After all, Tesla’s vehicles, while prone to delays, have always been noted by its customers to be well worth the wait. Considering that the Model 3 is arguably Tesla’s most ambitious vehicle to date, there is a good chance that the EV would come out finer than its competition, thus, justifying the long wait it entails.

For those who are simply looking for a clean, emissions-free way to get from point A to point B, and for those who could care less about glass roofs and Autopilot systems, the current offerings in the EV segment are already very good options. It’s not like those who would be opting for Chevrolet or Nissan’s offerings are settling for something inferior, anyway, as these Model 3 alternatives are coming from carmakers that have a long history in the automotive business. While there are equally good reasons why car buyers should, or should not, wait for the Model 3, the needs and wants of car buyers are what matters most.

[Featured Image by Aleksandra Suzi/Shutterstock]