The original 3-tiered Master Plan
Tesla was founded in 2003, shortly after GM destroyed the prototypes for its electric vehicle, the EV-1. In 2004, Elon Musk came to the fledgling company and provided much of the initial capital support to run it. It was founded with the idea to create effective electric cars and sell them to the masses. To do so, it created a 3 tiered strategy. The first phase was to release a sports car, which was then the only effective type of electric vehicle in terms of return on investment. It would be followed by a $60,000 sedan, and eventually a $30,000 sedan, sold to the masses.
The first mass-produced Electric Vehicle, the Tesla Roadster
As often has happened with Elon Musk’s companies, the timeline for these events was a bit off. The first phase, the Tesla Roadster, was released in 2008, and was slightly more expensive than anticipated. It was sold for about 4 years, and has not been manufactured since. The Tesla Roadster that SpaceX sent in to space was purchased by Elon Musk in 2009
The Model S
The Model S was the next car produced. It was originally released in 2012. There are a number of varieties to it, varying the battery size, and other features, but in general it was the first practical electric vehicle mass marketed, albeit at a high price. The price for a Model S started around at $75,000. There they experimented with technology like autopilot, supercharging, and others. The car has been continually improved via hardware changes in the factory, as well as software changes for the entire fleet. The Model X is similar in design, but built to satisfy the SUV market. Tesla, unlike most other auto manufacturers, continually improves their vehicles, not in arbitrary year model versions like other companies.
One of the things that currently sets Tesla apart from other manufacturers is the ability to charge at supercharger stations placed throughout the world. When it was first released, all Tesla owners were allowed to use it for free for life. Now one can only get the free charging if one uses a coupon code when purchasing.
The Model 3, a vehicle for the masses.
In 2018, at long last, the $30,000 version was released. Due to inflation, the price had increased to $35,000, but the Tesla Model 3 would go on to be one of the most popular cars ever sold. The production, as is common, started a bit slower than one would hope from Tesla, however, by the end of 2018 it had really picked up. The initial version produced is the more expensive version with a larger battery and luxury features, however, the price would come down as a more standard vehicle was produced.
It is this version that I finally own, thanks in part to the many people who have visited this site! If you want to purchase one of your own, use my referral code and with it gain whatever Tesla is promising at the time!