After Tesla booked nearly 400,000 reservations for its Model 3 in the days following its April 2016 release, the company hailed the rollout as “the week that electric vehicles went mainstream.”
Other automakers took note.
A GM executive told Automotive News last week the automaker is pushing up the release date of the all-electric Bolt, from September to August. GM’s move comes as the Bolt’s prime competitor — the Model 3 — is slated for initial release in late July.
Both EVs carry a sticker price around $35,000 before federal and state incentives, and have a range of more than 200 miles on a single charge. GM released the Bolt in California and Oregon late last year, and a company executive said its training and distribution are ahead of schedule. The company has sold about 6,500 vehicles through May.
Tesla expects to deliver its first Model 3s late next month. Company enthusiasts have spotted pre-release vehicles near Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto and by the SpaceX offices in southern California.
CEO Elon Musk noted last week that Tesla was formed as a reaction to GM’s decision to kill the EV-1, a futuristic electric car recalled by the Detroit automaker to the dismay of its owners.
Few people know that we started Tesla when GM forcibly recalled all electric cars from customers in 2003 & then crushed them in a junkyard
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2017
The Bolt advertises a range of 238 miles on a single charge. The hatchback received strong reviews and won the Motor Trend 2017 Car of the Year.
The anticipated Model 3 comes with 215 miles per charge, and zips off the line from zero to 60 mph in under 6 seconds. The 4-door sedan will have less luxury features than its more expensive older brother, the Model S.
Tesla is advertising test drives for late 2017. New reservations are expected to be delivered by mid-2018, at the earliest.
File Photo: The Chevy Bolt, released to California and Oregon customers in December, will compete with Tesla’s Model 3 sedan. Both electric vehicles carry a sticker price around $35,000 and a single-charge range of more than 200 miles. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
June 12, 2017 at 11:34PM
from Louis Hansen
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