Tesla Finally Makes a $35,000 Model 3 Available, Shifts All Sales Online

Tesla is shutting down “many of its stores.”

Photo Credit: Tesla

A day after a potential contempt charge from the SEC and a day before the company must make a $920 million cash bond payment, Tesla stopped taking all orders on its website in anticipation of an announcement at 2 p.m. Pacific time today.

And the announcement is.... 

As of now, consumers may place orders for a standard Model 3 with a regular interior and a 220-mile battery pack for $35,000. Additionally, Tesla is "shifting all sales online."

That means the company is shutting down "many of its stores" and keeping a "small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers."

Tesla claims that shutting stores and other operational efficiencies will result in the ability to "lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected."

Here are some specs on the basic model:

The Tesla blog post claims that the company "will be increasing our investment in the Tesla service system, with the goal of same-day, if not same-hour service, and with most service done by us coming to you, rather than you coming to us. Moreover, we guarantee service availability anywhere in any countries in which we operate."

The real question is, can Tesla make a profit selling a car at $35,000?

There's a press conference in the works, and we'll report on any developments as they happen.

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It's been an eventful month for the wildly popular electric vehicle maker.

Tesla will need some stellar sales performances in Europe and China this quarter to deliver on Musk’s promise of 50 percent growth in 2019 and quarterly profits.