Tesla Model 3 previewed ahead of March reveal

The first teaser image of the new Tesla Model 3 has been revealed, ahead of its official debut scheduled for 31 March in California.

The American manufacturer teased the model on Twitter, showing a blacked-out silhouette of the model next to its current Model S and Model X.

The Tesla Model 3 has now been unveiled. Click here to read about it.

Despite the teaser image giving practically nothing away, the car looks to have the same design language (at least from the front) with similar arches to the Model S, although sitting slightly lower. The door mirrors also look slightly smaller than those of the Model S.

Tesla’s third model, which will be a smaller, all-electric car to rival the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, will be revealed at an Apple-style product launch akin to the launches of the Model S and Model X.

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Production of the Model 3 will begin in 2017, so the car on display will be a pre-production model. Elon Musk recently tweeted that online orders in the US would be taken from 1 April, and Tesla stores will be taking orders from 31 March.

The Model 3 is expected to have a range of 200-300 miles. Tesla remains tight-lipped on details ahead of the car’s official unveiling, but we expect prices to start at around £35,000 when it reaches the UK. It's understood that a £1000 deposit will get customers on the waiting list for the new car.

Just as the Tesla Model S has the quickest a 0-62mph sprint time of all the cars in its class, the Model 3 is likely to beat performance variants of its competitors, including the 4.1sec time of the BMW M3.

Tesla's vice president of engineering, Chris Porritt, has already told Autocar that little would be carried over from existing Tesla models to the Model 3. Standout features, such as the ‘falcon doors’ of the Model X, are also likely to have been dropped in order to gain the more accessible price point.