Is the Bolt not good enough? It has similar-ish performance to the base Model 3. It's not as pretty, but it's quite functional. It also lacks the supercharger network, so maybe we discount that. That said, it is easier to get one right now, and though the list price is similar I'll bet you could get a much better out-the-door price from GM with discounts and incentives.

It looks really bad for a car costing over $35k. I don’t see how it’s better than a Model 3, besides that there are no supply issues.

It’s only easier to get a Bolt because few people want to buy them. The Model 3 is already out-producing and out-selling it.

I'm almost certain that more Model 3s will be delivered this year than Bolts, but I think it is a bit too early to claim that the Model 3 is already out-producing and out-selling it. The Model 3 did have more deliveries than the Bolt in January (1875 vs 1177), but that is only because the beginning of the year is a slow for cars sales in general. There were only 2 Bolts available in my entire state, because the 2018 models haven't arrived yet. However in December the Bolt sold 3227 units, and its average monthly sales for last year (1941) were above the Model 3's highest monthly deliveries to date.

https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

Another thing I like about Tesla is the abandonment of model years being a thing. It would be great if Tesla keeps refining its vehicles, not changing the external style much for decades, and going for super reliability in the long run. No reason the electric motor and chassis can't last a million miles or more.

Model 3 production (and thus sales, since they’re all spoken for at the moment) is rapidly increasing, so I feel comfortable making that claim now. Sales figures from January reflect production rates going all the way back to early December.

It probably is good enough for me, but I don't see how it's better than the Model 3. It's slower, shorter range, doesn't look as nice (although that's subjective), and more expensive.

I wouldn't turn one down though.

The incredible BMW i3.

That car costs over $40k, has worse range than the Model 3, and looks ugly. It seems worse in every way.

Munro (teardown specialist) says the i3 is engineered far better - see first comment of:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16305520

Interesting, although those are sort of nit picks, they probably reflect the overall engineering quality of the Model 3. While I don't have much context on this, it does seem concerning.

I wasn't able to find anything by Munro on the Model S--I wonder what they have to say about that car.

I don't think it qualifies as 'long-range'.

I was interested until I had to experience having to open the driver's door to close the rear passenger door. Not trusting my kids with that.

But according to that Munro guy the i3 is perfect and the Model 3 is terrible, because of its door handles.

Wait until you see the model 3s rear door manual override.

Spoiler, there is none.

That’s sarcasm, right?

With a 100 mile range, it's only in the same class when it comes to price.