Electrek (and other media) reported that Tesla is bringing a cheaper (mid range) Model 3 to market. This can either be explained as good or bad news. Let me tell you why.

Introducing: Model 3 mid range

The mid range Model 3 that is now available for US (and probably Canadian) customers will have a rang of 260 miles, one (rear wheel) motor with a little less power than the current long range model. The new version will include the premium (interior) upgrade and costs $45,000. If ordered quickly, delivery could still take place this year, making it eligible for the $7,500 tax rebate in the US.
Tesla probably targets people waiting for the short range M3 to order the mid range version and, at the same time, still be able to benefit from the full tax rebate that the federal government offers on EVs (NB: from 2019 this rebate will be lowered by 50% because Tesla hit 200,000 EVs sold in July this year).

Source

The good news

Since the introduction in July last year, Tesla has only been producing long range, premium Model 3's. That meant that the entry price of the M3 was $49,000 (in the US). With the new version, this entry price is lowered by $4,000. It hence becomes cheaper to buy a Model 3.
At the same time Tesla made the white interior an option for all M3 versions. Up until now white was only available for the performance model, so this increases the possibilities for people with a smaller wallet.

The bad news

There are multiple ways in which this news can be explained as a bad thing, for instance:

• The short range Model 3 might be postponed even further (Tesla shorts will probably reiterate that the $35,000 M3 will never come to market anyway);
• Model 3 demand in the US might increase in the first place, which might lead to (even) longer waiting times for people in other areas of the world;
• Tesla ended the rear wheel drive option for the long range Model 3, making it $5,000 more expensive to buy the cheapest long range M3.

What do you think? Do you like the new mid range Model 3 option? Or do you think the bad news outweighs the good news? Let me know in the comments below!