Electric carmaker Tesla is finally launching its long-awaited standard Model 3 starting at $35,000 and shifting all sales online, the company said.
The company’s shares were halted and Tesla suspended all orders on its website ahead of Thursday’s news and redirected users to a page teasing a mystery announcement CEO Elon Musk promised to reveal at 5 p.m.
The base model of the Model 3 will have 220 miles of range, a top speed of 130 miles-per-hour and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds, the company said.
Tesla has been promising a $35,000 version of the Model 3 ever since the automaker revealed the mid-size sedan in 2016. But it’s prioritized the production of more expensive versions of the car in order to keep profit margins high. CEO Elon Musk has defended the decision by saying that making lower-priced versions was unprofitable and would cause Tesla to “die.”