CEO Elon Musk took to the stage amid wild cheers from the gathered Teslarati, who had spent the previous hour and a half enjoying cocktails and light snacks under a lovely pink Southern California sunset while a DJ spun some groovy throbbing mash-ups of 1970s and '80s soft rock.
He had a lot to celebrate: More than 100,000 preorders at $1,000 each for the $35,000 Model 3 had been logged throughout the day — for a car that is unlikely to hit the streets until late 2017 at the earliest.
Musk outlined what he called Tesla's "Top Secret Master Plan" to accelerate humanity's transition away from fossil fuels.
Then he thanked Model S sedan and Model X SUV owners for "helping to pay for" development of the Model 3.
After that, it was a closer look at the vehicle, a midsize hatchback-ish sedan — a sort of fastback four-door — and some very short test drives.
The Model 3 we saw Thursday — from its unadorned, grille-less but daggerlike front end, to the vast windshield-to-rear-spoiler panoramic sunroof — is an early look at a preproduction vehicle that could change significantly between now and 2017, when deliveries are expected to begin.
But we learned at least a few things.
The Tesla design center in Hawthorne, California, was transformed into a rockin' and rollin' partyscape. Things really got going at sunset.
Matthew DeBord
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the stage just after dark ...
Tesla Motors
... and walked the crowd through Tesla's "Top Secret Master Plan"!
Matthew DeBord
Out rolled a trip of Model 3s. It's a midsize sedan with seating for five. Price: $35,000. Range: Over 200 miles. Speed: 0-60 in under six seconds (according to Tesla). All-wheel drive? Available. Autopilot self-driving tech? Absolutely. Hits the streets in 2017, if everything goes according to plan.
Tesla Motors
The front end is sleek, while the rear is capacious enough to make the rear seats comfortable for passengers.
Tesla Motors
What "falcon wing" doors were for the Model X, the sweeping front-to-rear glass is for the Model 3.
Tesla Motors
Look! No grille!
Matthew DeBord
Time for a ride.
Matthew DeBord
Well, we are in California after all.
Matthew DeBord
And we're off.
Matthew DeBord
There are no traditional instruments. Tesla has put everything in the central touch screen, which is larger than anyone expected. The rear seats are also similar in design to the "sculptural" back seats in the Model X SUV.
Matthew DeBord
This is what it's like when you put your foot down. Zoom!
Matthew is a Business Insider senior correspondent who covers transportation (and chess, guitars, home-audio equipment, cocktails, and sometimes classic rock). His focus is the global auto industry, including Tesla, a company he has chronicled since 2007. He also looks after Business Insider's annual Car of the Year award, announced every fall.He's written for The New York Times, Slate, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, HuffPost, and CBS Interactive. He's commented on the auto industry for a variety of media outlets, including Sirius XM, MSNBC, Radio France, KPCC, and KCRW. DeBord won the 2018 Ken Purdy Award from the International Motor Press Association.He's taught at New York University's Stern School of Business and the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.His book "Return to Glory: The Story of Ford's Revival and Victory at the Toughest Race in the World" was published in 2017 by Atlantic Monthly Press and came out in paperback in June 2018. In the New York Times Book Review, Jonathan Kellerman called it a "page-turning synthesis of business book and adventure saga."
