Tomorrow's the big day.
The auto industry will surely be focused in on Tesla's Model 3 reveal to see if it lives up to CEO Elon Musk's boast of being an affordable electric vehicle that will drive EVs into a mainstream American choice.
While there are bound to be surprises, there have been plenty of sticking points and features being reported that we feel safe to say to fully expect during tomorrow's unveil.
For starters, picture the bold design of the Model S for about half the price, as the $35,000 tag has been reported the most. That price could come down further, considering the government incentives and breaks to go electric, possibly shedding up to $5,000 off the Model 3. That's significant, as it puts Tesla in the driver's seat against pricier competition such as the Audi A4 ($39,789), Mercedes-Benz C-Class ($42,782) and BMW 3 Series ($42,183).
So, what else should people expect during tomorrow's reveal?
People should expect a vehicle that touts a driving range of at least 200 miles per charge, powered by a 60-kilowatt per hour lithium-ion battery. That being said, also expect an entirely new battery structure than that used in previous models from the automaker's line.
"For better or worse, most of Model 3 has to be new," Tesla's chief technology officer JB Straubel said at the University of Nevada, Reno last October. "It's a new battery architecture, it's a new motor technology, brand new vehicle structure. It's a lot of work."
Aside from the price and being Tesla's most affordable vehicle to date, in addition to some of the specs under the hood, perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding the Model 3 is its look.
Bloomberg, among the many media outlets weighing in on the unveil, for example, wonders if the Model 3 will have the same oval front of the Model S or one more similar to that of the Model X, going as far as to say the shadow of the Model 3 resembles a shorter, smaller Model S.
When Bloomberg asked Tesla if it wished to clarify, the automaker literally laughed it off with a "Ha" response. This is purely an educated guess, but we wouldn't be surprised to see the Model 3 actually tout a different front-end look from that of the Model S — just with mostly everything else being similar.
Tomorrow, we'll find out if the Model 3 is as big of a game changer as advertised.
