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New Tesla Model 3 will sell for $35,000 or less

By Shawn Price
Tesla Motors next car, the Model 3 will be priced at $35,000 or just $25,000 after tax credits, the company confirmed this week. The car will be revealed in late March. UPI/Brian Kersey
Tesla Motors next car, the Model 3 will be priced at $35,000 or just $25,000 after tax credits, the company confirmed this week. The car will be revealed in late March. UPI/Brian Kersey | License Photo

PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The new Tesla Model 3 will be sold for just $35,000 or less, before incentives, the company said this week.

The luxury electric car maker will soon begin taking orders for its new model, which will have one major distinction from previous Tesla cars: The price tag. The company officially confirmed what CEO Elon Musk announced at an auto show last year. And after tax credits, the price could drop to just $25,000.

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There are no photos or descriptions of the car yet, with the price and the company's reputation being the only current selling points.

Due to be roll off the line in 2017, the car will arrive just in time before the tax credits for buying an electric could expire. Nevertheless, it's remarkable for a company whose first car was more than $100,000 and its next was $70,000.

"We can confirm it's $35,000 before incentives," Tesla spokeswoman Khobi Brooklyn told Bloomberg News. "We haven't changed our minds."

At that price point, the Tesla market expands dramatically. Average sedans are sold at about $31,000 Bloomberg analysts said. The price point will put the new Tesla in competition with the BMW 3 Series.

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In fact, due to extra incentives added by states like Colorado, the new Tesla would cost as much -- or less -- than a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.

"We did, I think, receive some unfair criticism because we had the Tesla Roadster, and people would say, 'Well, why are you making this expensive sports car?' As though we somehow felt that there was a shortage of sports cars for rich people or something," Musk told NPR in 2012.

"Our goal from the beginning has been to drive forward the electric car revolution, and we needed time to refine the technology," Musk said. "And really, with version three — the $30,000 car — that's where it becomes mass market."

The company said the Model's production is on time and will be revealed at the end of March.

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