The Nissan Leaf 2018 model, set to launch in September, will feature a one-pedal electric car. The Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle will make Car Keys a thing of the past. On Friday night, the first 30 units of the futuristic vehicle that does not require a physical key at all to either open its doors or start the motor were delivered at an event at the Fremont factory of Tesla in California.
The owner’s smartphone is Tesla Model 3’s key. The unique Bluetooth signal from the device will unlock the vehicle once the owner approaches the electric car, Mashable reported.
To start the motor, it would also use the smartphone.
Backup tool
In case the battery of the smartphone just ran out of juice, was misplaced, or a valet parks the Tesla Model 3, the car comes with an NFC-equipped to unlock the door and start the motor. The card is tapped outside the door and inside the electric car to start it up. Besides Tesla, Volvo had also offered cars that do not use keys since 2016, however, it is only the Tesla Model 3 electric car that offers the key-less option on all its units.
Of course, a car this high-tech does not come cheap. The base model, which features a 220-mile range, zooms to a speed of 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, and runs at a top speed of 130 mph, has a price tag of $35,000.
By adding $9,000 more, the vehicle buyer will get a faster vehicle with a 310-mile range, reaches 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, and has a top speed of 140 mph.
Hundreds more Model 3s
According to Elon Musk, the CEO, and founder of Tesla, for the next few months, it will be the more expensive $44,000 Model 3 that will be manufactured by Tesla.
After the initial 30 units that were delivered on Friday, hundreds more Model 3 electric vehicles will roll out in the coming months.
Tesla has a problem with the Model 3 as the company went through six months of manufacturing hell. There are about 500,000 pre-orders for the Model 3 and it will take them until the end of 2018 just to meet the high demand.
By the end of August, he expects Tesla to have another 100 units ready. Given that in the last nine years, Tesla produced a total of 200,000 vehicles, meeting half a million orders within the next 17 months is a tall order for the company.
Along with the increase in Model 3 cars, Tesla will also increase the 10,000 supercharging stations by the end of 2017 and up those to 15,000 by the end of 2019 from the current 6,000. Owners of Model 3 vehicles will pay every time they use a supercharge station, but the service is free at slower public charging stations.
