Tesla Model 3 UK deliveries have finally started

Tesla has chosen Clean Air Day to begin UK deliveries of its most affordable car yet, the Model 3. Dozens of people who placed early reservations were among the first to receive their new cars.

Tesla Model 3 UKThe Tesla Model 3 is finally taking to British roads as UK deliveries commenced at the firm’s Heathrow HQ – fittingly, on Clean Air Day.

Among the first to receive their all-electric Model 3 were those who placed £1,000 deposits as far back as 2016.

Tesla’s 18 UK stores will now ramp up deliveries in coming weeks.

Related: The Tesla story so far

Prices for the Model 3 EV start from £38,900, including the £3,500 government Plug-in Car Grant, increasing to £52,290 for the Porsche-beating Performance model with eyecatching Performance Upgrade.

Tesla Model 3 UK

Tesla hopes the global rollout of the Model 3 will help it now grow quickly. Of the 500,000 cars it has sold to date, almost 140,000 are already a Model 3 – which, in 2018, became the best-selling premium vehicle in North America.

It is the first time in decades that an American brand took the top spot in its home market, adds the firm. And in 2019, it’s already become Europe’s best-selling EV.

Tesla Model 3: UK specs

Tesla Model 3 UK

The entry-level UK Model 3 is the rear-wheel-drive Standard Range Plus, which has a 258-mile range. This costs £38,900 in solid black, the only standard colour.

Add £950 if you want Midnight Silver or Deep Blue, £1,450 for Pearl White multi-coat, or £1,900 for Red multi-coat.

Autopilot is free: the Model 3 will steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane, albeit ‘under active driver supervision’.

Related: Tesla Model 3 long-term review

The Model 3 Performance costs from £48,950, and lives up to its name by cutting more than two seconds from the 0-60mph dash. It gets there in just 3.2 seconds, aided by all-wheel-drive traction.

Tesla Model 3 UK

It’s not just quicker, though, but also goes further – a bigger battery gives it a 329-mile range.

Adding on the Performance Upgrade pack takes the top speed up to 162mph. This version also has carbon fibre spoiler, 20-inch alloys, red brake calipers and an additional Track Mode setting.

What Tesla Model 3 UK buyers will not get, however, is free access to the Supercharger network, of which there are 50 locations in Britain. Instead, it’s pay-per-access – although European Model 3s do also have a built-in CCS charge port so they can also use third-party fast charging networks.

  Standard Range Plus Performance Performance (with Performance Upgrade)
0-60mph 5.3 seconds 3.2 seconds 3.2 seconds
Top Speed (mph) 140 mph 145 mph 162 mph
WLTP Miles 258 miles 329 miles 329 miles
Starting Price £38,900 £48,590 £52,290
Wheel Options 18” Aero 18” Aero 20” Performance
Drive Rear-wheel drive Dual Motor all-wheel drive Dual Motor all-wheel drive
Vehicle Warranty 4 year / 50,000 miles 4 year / 50,000 miles 4 year / 50,000 miles
Battery and Drive Unit Warranty 8 year / 100,000 miles 8 year / 120,000 miles 8 year / 120,000 miles
Interior Cargo Volume 542 Litres including front trunk, rear boot and underfloor storage
Length 4.69 metres
Wheelbase 2.88 metres
Width 1.93 metres (with mirrors folded)

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Richard Aucock
Richard Aucockhttps://www.richardaucock.co.uk/
Richard is director at Motoring Research. He has been with us since 2001, and has been a motoring journalist even longer. He won the IMCO Motoring Writer of the Future Award in 1996 and the acclaimed Sir William Lyons Award in 1998. Both awards are run by the Guild of Motoring Writers and Richard is currently vice chair of the world's largest organisation for automotive media professionals. Richard is also a juror and Steering Committee director for World Car Awards and the UK juror for the AUTOBEST awards.

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