Tesla to open Model 3 orders in UK this May
Tesla is preparing to open the order books for the Model 3 in the UK, according to Elon Musk. In a tweet, the Tesla boss said the online order page would open “around May 1 or 2”, allowing British customers to place an order before Tesla raises the price of its latest Autopilot upgrade.
The extended self-driving feature, reportedly a brand new Autopilot chip, will cost customers an additional 1,000 dollars from the 10th of May. Anyone who has previously purchased a Tesla with the option ‘Full potential for autonomous driving’ will get their car upgraded free of charge though.
Note, that an order page does not say much about deliveries, and it appears that the first (demonstrator) models with right-hand drive will only arrive on the Isles in the second half of 2019, reports Autocar.
UK order page will go live around May 1 or 2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2019
Still, the Twitter announcement has prompted expectations with calls from Ireland remaining unanswered so far (only Northern Ireland is part of the UK, strictly speaking). Also, Australian right-hand drivers are waiting for news on when they may reserve a Model 3 Down Under.
In continental Europe, the electric carmaker launched its Model 3 configurator in December, first making it available to customers who had already put down a deposit for the entry-level Tesla. Since then, Tesla has added various versions to the configurator, the latest being the rear-wheel drive and the Standard Plus battery version. In Germany, Tesla is charging a base price of 44,500 euros (plus a handling fee of 980 euros) for this version, which offers a WLTP range of 415 km. Also, Model 3 pricing announced in Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and France suggest the EV will be available from around £50,000 in Britain. Taking into consideration the plug-in grant, this price falls to £46,500. When Tesla manages to offer the electric car at the initially targeted price level of around 35,000 dollars remains to be seen.
According to Autocar, the Model 3 is on show in UK dealerships namely at Tesla’s London Park Royal and Manchester Stockport stores.
Two models will be available at launch in the UK: the four-wheel-drive and the long-range version that is capable of 338 miles (WLTP). The Model 3 Performance can do 330 miles.
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