Waiting for a car can be an exciting time. But how long would you wait for the brand-new Tesla?
Earlier this morning we headed out to the local display of the Tesla Model 3. Yes - there’s an actual Model 3 in Australia! But there’s a catch…
Because of the Model 3’s irregular production rates, the car that was shown to Aussie reservation holders was a US-spec, left-hand drive model.
This is the first sign of a car they've seen in Aus after some dropped a $1500 deposit as early as March 2016. After waiting that long, you might expect them to be foaming at the mouth for anything less than a demo car. But, weirdly, nobody we talked to expressed any frustration. And this is where it gets weird…
Australian customers will lose it if a new car doesn’t have AppleCar Play or Android Auto. But waiting three years for a car with a history of quality control issues, bumper defects, and mismatched interior parts? No problem.
Tesla seems to have an aura about it. But how far can charisma take you?
Production of right-hand drive Model 3’s are expected to kick off in mid-2019, with AU and NZ cars coming, at the earliest, three to four months later.
Elon Musk has tweeted that the RRP of the base Tesla Model 3 will be, “$US price in $AUD plus import duties and sales tax”.
At the time of writing, that would be $47,600, plus 10 per cent import duty ($4760), 10 per cent GST ($4760), and stamp duty ($1350 base + $2860); coming up to a rough estimate of AUD $61,330, before on-road costs.
