It’s time for some bittersweet Tesla news. The electric vehicle (EVs) manufacturer, headed up by one of our country’s own, Elon Musk, has expanded availability of its Model 3 car to six new countries.
This is great as the company is clearly delivering on its plan to bring more EVs to other parts of the globe outside of the US. The sad part is that South Africa is not among the six new countries, with Tesla yet to announce when it plans to launch its vehicles in SA.
Back when the Model 3 was in development, Musk noted that the vehicle was earmarked for launch in South Africa as part of the later phases of rollout, but that was back in 2016. In the three years that have elapsed since Musk has remained mum on the subject, and our roads are no closer to getting a Tesla electric car on them.
Adding several more countries to Model 3 order page tonight. Check for details, but will include India, Brazil, SA, SK, NZ, Sing & Ireland.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 31, 2016
Now that we’ve gotten the winging and moaning out of the way, which countries are getting the Tesla Model 3?
The company confirmed in a tweet that it’s coming to Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Macau. The firm also directed potential customers to a design portal for the Model 3, so they can start tinkering with different configurations and see how much the car will cost in their region, as prices will vary.
As Engadget notes, Tesla has also confirmed pricing for the Model 3 in China, with the company already taking pre-orders for the vehicle and requiring a downpayment of $3 000 in order to secure one.
We *do not* want to alarm anyone, but Model 3 is now available to order in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Macau at https://t.co/8uVlhvzpu5.
You know what to do: https://t.co/8rUJ8umwU4
— Tesla (@Tesla) May 31, 2019
With infrastructure one of the biggest barriers to entry for most manufacturers that have electric cars in their lineup, once that issue is sorted, we could hopefully then see the Model 3 and other Tesla vehicles land locally.
For now we’ll have to contend with cars from the likes of Jaguar and BMW.