To be honest I don't think they are unnecessarily heavy for evs. Base model 3 is a bit over 1600 kg, while a base audi a4 weighs a bit over 1500 kg. Performance model 3 weighs about 1850 kg while and an audi rs4 weighs 1790 kg. Meanwhile the polestar 2, an ev comparable to a mid spec model 3, weighs almost 2200 kg.
Their energy efficiency numbers are similarly good and almost across the board better than competition evs.
Edit: I might just add that the weight argument has a bit more strength re the model s and x. Even if they're comparable to other evs, they are a decent bit heavier than comparable ICE cars. I think that's a result of the older platform -- I suspect a lot of work must have gone into model 3 to reduce weight.
Pushing air out of the way continuously is a real drain on energy.
https://www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/pollution-tyre-wear-...: “Pollution from tyre wear can be 1,000 times worse than what comes out of a car’s exhaust”
They certainly have that image, but I think an eco-friendly electric car would have to be smaller and lighter, even if that means decreasing range.
Going for a long range makes their cars unnecessarily heavy. That makes them require more power and increases tire and road wear.
I also think the competition is timing its entry quite well, arriving close to the moment when it becomes possible to make money making electric cars.