Model 3 : The car of the future

The much awaited Tesla Model 3 is about to be launched in a few weeks and the first production prototypes of the Model 3 sedan were caught off guard around the Silicon Valley area.

Production Prototype of the Model 3

The car looks pretty much the same as the launch prototypes. The car also gets the new central touchscreen, which will soon feature in all Tesla cars. The central screen will feature a speedo, navigation and the autopilot (if the US government permits).The car will also get the same treatment as the Model S and X with no grille in the front. The car will have a range of 215 miles. Musk recently tweeted that the car will not feature a conventional speedo or a HUD(head up display). A few models in the testing were spotted with  cameras and sensors. 

The Model 3 alongside the 3 series

The Model 3 will compete against the BMW 3 series, Mercedes C-class and other cars in the mid size segment. The car is expected to sell for $35000in the US. The car also poses a great threat for the sale of the much smaller Chevy Bolt.The Model 3 can currently be booked online on the Tesla website with an initial payment of $1000.

The centre console

At present Tesla manufactures it's cars at its Fremont and Lathrop factories. The mighty Gigafactory is also underway, while the phase 1 factory at Reno is fully functional. The Tilburg factory at Netherlands supports the European Tesla stores. Tesla currently makes two vehicles, the Model S and the Model X . The Roadster which was discontinued in 2012 is also expected to make a comeback by 2019 .

Tesla is expected to sell the Model 3 by winter 2017 and open it's first stores at the UAE and India. Tesla currently sells it's cars in the Americas, Europe, China, Japan, Australia and Russia.

Tesla recently reached a milestone overtaking Ford to become the second largest automaker in terms of market capitalisation, following GM. Tesla sold 25,000 EV's in the first quarter of 2017 a 69% rise compared to the 2016 stats .