Elon Musk Posts Video Of ‘Release Candidate’ Tesla Model 3, Says First Cars Will Be Rear-Wheel Drive

Musk started off his morning tweet storm by lamenting the fact that he named the car “Model 3”, stating that some people have mistakenly assumed that the vehicle is somehow superior to the Model S. But he reminded everyone that the Model S is the technological star of the Tesla family. Musk went on to explain that he blames Ford for not allowing him to bring sexy back:

Model 3 was going to be called Model E, for obvious dumb humor reasons, but Ford sued to block it, so now it is S3X. Totally different :)

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2017

Other nuggets of information that he dropped included the fact that he will continue to drive his Model S even after the Model 3 is released (as it is the superior car). Musk also made it clear that to keep the product mix relatively simple at the start of production, only rear-wheel drive (RWD) models will be available initially. However, all-wheel drive (AWD) models that employ a dual-motor configuration (like what’s available with the Model S and Model X) will follow six to nine months after the initial low-rate production begins.

With regards to performance models akin to the Model S P100D, Musk says that those variants will arrive roughly one year from now. While these models will probably offer breakneck acceleration in Ludicrous Mode, they won’t be faster than the performance versions of the Model S due to lower-capacity batteries and less power electric motors. One final bit of information: the Model 3 will have just a single display, which will handle infotainment/instrument cluster duties.

As if that wasn’t enough Musk also teased the “release candidate” version of the Model 3 with a short video clip, which you can watch below.

First drive of a release candidate version of Model 3 pic.twitter.com/zcs6j1YRa4

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 24, 2017

Tesla has taken in nearly 400,000 reservations for the Model 3, with each of those prospective buyers putting down a $1,000 deposit. The vehicle seats up to five people and has both a rear trunk and a front trunk (frunk). It will also have optional Autopilot functionality, like its bigger Model S and Model X siblings.