Like many car enthusiasts, we have been waiting for Tesla to launch a new model that costs less than the $100,000 price tag of the Tesla Model X. The wait is finally over and Tesla is now taking pre-orders for its new Model 3, priced at a more reasonable $35,000. At this price, the response was overwhelming, resulting in long lines at Tesla dealerships on March 31st to place a $1,000 deposit for the new car.
The Model 3 is not expected to be delivered until late in 2017, but nonetheless it already has an enthusiastic following. The new model is expected to have a range of about 215 miles when fully charged and be able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than six seconds, giving it an advantage over competition from Nissan and BMW.
With the introduction of Model 3, the company also hopes to increase annual sales from 85,000 cars this year to 500,000 cars by 2020. Already, there are more than 115,000 orders for the car. If all the orders turn into final sales, revenue from Model 3 could exceed $4 billion.
All electric vehicles may soon become more routine. Ready to charge?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the importance of clearly defining a target market.
- View the car on Tesla’s Web site: http://www.teslamotors.com/
- Show a video of the car in action:
- Divide students into teams and have each team develop a profile of a target market for this car. Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.
- Based on the target market profile, what makes this product unique for these customers?
- Debrief the exercise.
Source: New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Verge, other news sources
