Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) held a huge event in late March to show off its Model 3 mass-market EV. But the product was unveiled without a finished design and fully explained interior. Tesla founder Elon Musk said at the event that the company will hold “Part 2” of the event by the end of this year. At the Code Conference, Musk said Wednesday that Tesla will hold a “big event” for Model 3 towards the end of the year.
Will Model 3 feature an Autopilot system?
His comment was quite interesting because he was responding to a question about whether the base Model 3 will include the Autopilot functionality. Without revealing any details, Musk said the EV maker will do “the obvious thing” at the event. However, it isn’t immediately obvious what “the obvious thing” would be. The California company is expected to unveil the production-ready Model 3.
Since Musk’s response was to a question about Autopilot, Tesla could also unveil Model 3’s Autopilot system at the event. It could be more advanced than the Autopilot currently deployed on Model S. Responding to another question regarding the potential delay in Model 3 launch from Nilay Patel of The Verge, Musk said the car’s design will be finished within six weeks. The car will be “pencils down” by mid-July.
Versions 2, 3 to have added features
The Tesla CEO said if there are any ideas for future cool things, they will likely be incorporated in version 2, version 3 of the car. Tesla has a history of delaying the vehicle deliveries. The Model X deliveries have been slower than expected due to quality issues. Tesla has received nearly 400,000 reservations for its mass-market sedan that is expected to enter mass production in July 2017.
Earlier this week, Elon Musk said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that Model 3 owners will not get free access to Supercharging stations. They will have to buy that package to charge their vehicles at more than 600 Supercharging stations across North America. However, Musk assured customers that it will still be far cheaper than gasoline.
