The Model 3 standard battery is now expected to have an acceleration time of 5.1 to 5.6 seconds going from 0-60 mph, according to new information spotted by a Reddit user on Tesla’s website.
The specs clearly show two variants: RWD and Dual Motor AWD. Earlier this month Tesla confirmed with a simple “Yes” that there would, in fact, be an AWD option, but it is now official.
But here’s the thing. Even though the standard battery RWD could be priced at the originally planned $35,000, an overwhelming majority of customers actually want the slightly more expensive AWD variant with the dual motors. This was confirmed by Bloomberg’s Model 3 Tracker manager Paul Carter, who said this:
“As it stands now, 29% are wanting Rear Wheel Drive. From the year end report, it stood at approximately 25%. The large majority of Model 3 reservation holders want the dual motor configuration and willing to wait for it.”
That means 3 out of 4 customers will opt for the dual motor version of the base Model 3 even though it means an extra $5,000 for that option. In that same article from 8/12, this is what we said:
Surveys are surveys after all. There is always a margin for error. But if you look at Tesla’s Model 3 VIN registrations in the last couple of months you will realize that Bloomberg nailed its survey. Nearly 70% of VIN registrations has been for Dual Motor AWD Model 3 since Tesla started registering them in the last week of June.
And this is where that data came from.
To date, 24,545 dual motor VINs have been registered w/ NHTSA (excl. test batches). This represents ~70% of all VINs registered (35,317) since AWD registrations began on 6/28. pic.twitter.com/lHUoymSJkd
— Model 3 VINs (@Model3VINs) August 5, 2018
So the survey numbers and VIN registrations are a very close match and they’re heavily skewed towards the Dual Motor AWD variants of Model 3. That much is clear.
And with the new specs being posted just a few hours ago, it’s obvious that Tesla has been testing both models, which is why the difference in acceleration (5.1 to 5.6 seconds from 0-60 mph.) The dual motor is obviously going to come in at the lower end, while the RWD was already confirmed at 5.6 seconds before Tesla took down that page last month. The data is still there but buried in the press kit here.
By comparison, the 3 series BMW has an acceleration time of 7.3 seconds so it’s completely out of the running, while the Mercedes-Benz C-300 sits at 5.8 seconds – not as quick as the $35,000 variant but costlier by at least $5,000.
