The Bolt is not priced the same as the Model 3. Examples:

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searchresults.action/?mdId=362...

MSRP is exactly the same as Model 3. The fact that they have to offer them 40% off MSRP because no one wants them isn't a good thing.

And yet, miraculously, the Bolt is cheaper.

The Bolt is the best value for money EV in the world at the moment. It's untouchable in price for range.

Sure, it is cheaper in the same way everything at a going out of business sale is cheaper.

Recognizing traffic lights is worth more than the cost difference.

As someone whose car recognizes traffic lights (though not with perfect accuracy), it is the most useless feature I've ever seen. Right along with recognizing garbage cans. I would not pay a dime extra for the visualizations, especially since they're quite inaccurate in many cases. So, many, cones, even when there aren't really any cones.

Does it stop for traffic lights and start for green?

There’s no leather in the Model 3. But the seat material (“vegan leather”) is very nice.

I don’t think of the money spent as buying luxury. What it’s buying are the other amazing aspects of the car. Performance, range, efficiency, connectivity, updates, safety, etc. which may have some overlap with features of luxury cars, but it’s better to think of it as a next generation car where you are paying for that new tech, and any luxury touches you may get, while not measuring up to a teak wood console in some other car, are bonuses. Instead of the teak wood and alligator leather cigar holder or whatever, you are getting AWD that beats the pants off Subaru, Audi quattro, or anyone else, and all the other amazing things Tesla gives you.

The leather is tied to the range in the model 3.

No it's not. All Model 3's produced have the same exact seats (besides the minor revisions).

You may be thinking of the originally proposed SR/SR+ half leather and half linen or whatever they were talking about. They scrapped that.

False, you cannot buy a Model 3, or any Tesla for that matter that doesn't have leather. There was a planed cloth seat for the model 3 but they scrapped that.

Is it real animal skin? As someone who opts out of leather interiors in cars, and knowing that Tesla sells well to the SV crowd, I'm surprised that there'd be no way to buy a tesla without killing some cattle.

3 and Y are vegan leather. The others had a cloth option, but for the new ones the leather will be vegan.

"vegan leather"

So, plastic.

Yes, polyurethane, which according to testing, performs better than real leather in the rubbing/scratching tests. Durability in general is superior on actual 'premium' leatherette/vegan leather offerings.

Sure, you can make crap leatherette material that is way too hot and sticky and feels like cheap vinyl, but that's not what this is.

Hopefully more like "I can't believe it's not leather".