For people in the US who are itching to get into the whole electric automobile bandwagon, the first word on the subject really is the Model 3 car from Elon Musk’s Tesla. Having been made available this past month, the Model 3 has been touted by the Tesla CEO to be the game-changer. It has been hyped to be the first truly affordable electric car for mass consumers, one that will provide speedy and long-distance performance (220 miles) on one electric charge for reasonable prices. Indeed, the $35,000 asking price for a Model 3 is a far cry from the prices of Tesla previous offerings.
But apparently, to really get what you like out of the car you need to add some extra cash.
Paying for extra
Some people are cottoning on that the $35,000 price tag for a basic unit Tesla Model 3 seems to be leaving much to be desired, and that getting some extra perks could easily inflate that price. Elon Musk previously posted the sleek black Model 3s rolling out the factory on Twitter - but that is the thing. The basic Model 3 is all black by default. If a prospective Tesla buyer wants his Model 3 to be other than black, he will have to add a thousand dollars to his price for an alternate color scheme of his choice.
That’s barely the end of it. Say a sporty buyer wants some high-performance wheels for his Model 3?
Tesla offers an upgrade to some 19-inch sports wheels, but they cost $1,500 which makes the total price $36,500 in all. Really, the fact of the matter is that many of the really juicy Tesla extras that customers want for their very own electric car would see the basic thirty-five grand model price tag ballooning with all the customizations they would like to get in the Model 3 that they want.
Kim Reynolds, Motor Trends testing director was cited by CNN Money as saying that the "cherry red sedan was significantly more pricey than the base Model 3 price. Reynolds estimated it cost $59,500 before tax incentives."
Bare-bones basic model
Regarding the Tesla Model 3 being the affordable electric car, professional reviews have it that at $35,000 the basic model is very sparse in features.
At that price a proud new owner would find himself with manual adjustment seats and steering column, manual side mirrors without heating features, and the lights do not automatically dim. Other gas-powered cars of the same price range would have sprung for automation of those same features.
Still, there are ways to beat the cost of extra for the Model 3. The government does have an incentive credit of $7,500 for the total cost of electric cars. Prospective buyers are now trying to make sure they are part of the recipients for the first 200,000 units from Tesla, as they will be the only Model 3s in the production run that will get the incentive.
