Model 3, Happy 6th Birthday!
Time flies in the blink of an eye. 6 years ago today – April 1, 2016, at 11:30 AM Beijing time, Musk unveiled the long-rumored Model 3 in Fremont.
What’s more surprising than the originally announced $35,000 price tag was its “faceless” appearance, unprecedented central display “dashboard”, and incredible electric performance, like an extraterrestrial visitor.
This car also became the smart electric vehicle I poured the most attention and love into in my career. In July 2017, I also test drove one of the first 20 Model 3s delivered in Fremont.
It’s like a dream come true that Model 3 is the first global debut car in my automotive media career, and the first “automaker leader” I interviewed turned out to be Elon Musk.
At that time, my first impression of this car to people around me was that it was a very Tesla-like car. At the same time, I wrote an article titled “First Global Test: Missed iPhone 4 That Year, Tesla Model 3 Should Not Be Missed Again.” We anticipated the success of Model 3, but we didn’t expect it to be such a tremendous success. In the following 6 years, it penetrated the market at an unprecedented speed and broke records in an incomparable way – not just Tesla, but also like an extraterrestrial visitor.
Now, it has become the world’s first electric vehicle with sales exceeding one million units and still occupies the top spot in the electric vehicle market: since 2020, Tesla has merged the sales and delivery data of Model 3 and Model Y in its financial reports, so only Musk knows the exact sales and delivery data of Model 3. Based on data and information from multiple channels, we estimate that the total sales of Model 3 after its six-year release anniversary is about 1.35 million units. What does it mean? My colleagues have made the following records:
What is the concept of 1.35 million Model 3s sold? The average weight of each Model 3 is 1.77 tons, so the total weight of all Model 3s sold in history is 2.3895 million tons. Blue whale is the largest living creature on earth and one of the largest in history. An adult blue whale weighs 150,000 kg, or 150 tons, equivalent to 15,930 adult blue whales. In 2014, the global population of blue whales was estimated to be between 10,000 and 25,000. That means the total weight of all Model 3s in the world is roughly equivalent to the weight of all blue whales. If we convert this weight into that of adult humans, it is equivalent to 400 million people. The length of a Model 3 is 4.694 meters, so all the Model 3s on earth have covered a total distance of 6,336,900 kilometers. The land boundary of Germany, the homeland of BBA, is 1381 kilometers, which means that all the Model 3s on earth can encircle Germany 4.9 times.
The maximum passenger capacity for a Model 3 is 5 people. If all the Model 3s on Earth were fully loaded, it would be a total of 6.75 million people. This is equivalent to the population of Nicaragua, which ranks 110th in the world, and the 22nd in Europe. The battery capacity is calculated at an average of 67.5 degrees Celsius between 75 and 60 degrees Celsius. 1.35 million vehicles equal 91.125 billion kilowatt-hours. According to the data released by the National Energy Administration, China consumed 623.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in February. The total energy of all the batteries in Model 3s on Earth is enough for all Chinese people to use for 5 minutes and 53 seconds. It can power a 10-watt Edison light bulb for 91.125 billion hours, which is equivalent to 10,395,277.21 years.
Model 3 has even achieved a one-to-one rival ratio with multiple corporations, and its sales volume can even match that of multiple companies. Today is a good day for various companies to release their sales volume. As of April 1, 2022, the three most prominent domestic new forces in the automobile industry, namely NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto, announced the following sales results: NIO sold a total of 192,838 vehicles; Xpeng sold a total of 176,737 vehicles; Li Auto sold a total of 155,804 vehicles. The total sales volume of these three companies is 525,379 vehicles, which is almost one-third of Model 3’s historical sales volume.
An interesting fact is that Model 3 is like a cash cow, creating wealth for Tesla and the whole world. To give a simple example, let’s go back to 2016 when Tesla’s stock was $48.15. If you had bought Tesla’s stock with the price of a Model 3, which is currently worth 40 Model 3s, you would have had 727.35 shares. Now, these shares are worth $1,384,864.
As a young generation of automotive media, we are fortunate to witness the rise of Model 3 and its representation of intelligent electrification, which redefines the history of the automobile industry. Model 3 popularizes our overall understanding of intelligent electric vehicles. I believe that every Model 3 owner will find it unforgettable to experience the slight trembling of the steering wheel when Autopilot is activated, or the excitement of seeing a 100km boost in range after 5 minutes of charging on V3 Supercharging.
Model 3 has promoted the popularity of electric vehicles in human history. We may not have witnessed the miracle of the Model T, nor do we have the chance to discover the Volkswagen Beetle and the Golf before the establishment of the Roman Empire. We have the fortune, however, to witness Model 3 and the wave of intelligent electrification, which rewrites the history of the automobile industry.The electronic and electrical architecture, full-stack self-developed, autonomous driving, software OTA, battery energy density, cell structure, numerous unfamiliar and previously nonexistent terms, have entered thousands of households through this car.
Model 3 has evolved from a machine into a machine that changes manufacturing machines. The Shanghai Super Factory not only allows us to witness the speed of China but also the reform of the production process. The production capacity has gone from emerging from hell to entering heaven directly, and the Chinese automotive industry has gone from importing to exporting in batches.
It not only makes us pay attention to cars but also to how car companies produce cars and how car companies create wealth, and even how car companies subvert technology and change the world. Model 3 is not alone in the battle. We once joked that Model Y is Model 3 tiptoeing. Now it seems that Model Y is not only elevated in space but also has the potential to be elevated in historical status even more. It may also create new records and take on a new best mantle.
But no matter what, we will always remember the story of Model 3.
Remember to say, “Happy Birthday, Model 3!”
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.