New Video Reveals the Tesla Model 3 Prototype’s Impressive Speed
The Tesla Model 3 is going to give other cars on the road a run for their money. On Friday, new footage surfaced of the company’s upcoming car driving near the Palo Alto headquarters. The eyewitness source that recorded the video claims his car struggled to keep up with the Model 3.
Greg Forrest, who provided the footage to Electrek, told the publication that he spotted a white release candidate model driving near the campus. He was able to keep pace with it for about five minutes, but it was a tough challenge for his Toyota Corolla rental car.
In the below footage, it’s easy to see how the Model 3 could outpace its competitors, even at low speed. The vehicle is intended to represent a reduced-price version of the Model S, and the P100D model of that car has posted blistering acceleration times of just 2.28 seconds. The instant speed as the Model 3 pulls away from the junction shows the power of the electric motors at work:
It’s not the first time we’ve got a sense of the power at play here. Last month, a black Model 3 was spotted in the same area by a Tesla owner named Wayne. In the captured video, the Model 3 manages to pull away faster than Wayne and the BMW chaser car. The BMW has to push to catch up with the Model 3, a subtle sign that even in these daily drives the Model 3 has an impressive amount of power.
This is all despite the fact that at $35,000, the Model 3 seriously undercuts the $68,000 starting price of the Model S. When the vehicle enters production in July, Tesla will reach a broader audience than ever before, but the company has managed to maintain some of the key selling points from its other vehicles that have rapidly transformed the company into a household name.
Indeed, the Model 3’s power is so impressive at its price point that CEO Elon Musk has said that the company’s upcoming semi truck will be powered by several Model 3 motors put together. The company is aiming to use its new Gigafactory facilities to boost total car output from fewer than 100,000 per year to 500,000 by the end of 2018, half of which will be Model 3 vehicles. This increase in output will drive costs down and provide a cost-effective way for Tesla to produce a semi truck with a competitive price point.
It’s a cheaper version of Tesla’s other vehicles, but these videos are revealing a car with a significant amount of power.
