With two years or more to wait for delivery, you’d be forgiven for just waiting till you naturally wake up on Thursday rather than setting an alarm to wake up and head to a Tesla showroom to put your money down for a Tesla Model 3. But colour him keen – Andreas Stephens is going to queue outside for 48 hours to put his name down.
It’s a scene reminiscent of Apple Stores around the world ahead of the release of new flagship products from the tech giant, and while it’s a first for Tesla in Australia there are plenty of parallels between these two Modern giants of technology.
Both have a hugely dedicated fan-base, both innovate in new products, and both have a new and direct retail channel allowing those very fans to queue out the front – or around the block.
On Thursday at 8am when the Tesla Showroom on Sydney’s Lower North Shore in Artarmon opens up, Andreas Stephens will be the first man inside.
He’ll put down a holding deposit of around $1,500 to secure his place in the queue for the yet to be announced Tesla Model 3.
The Model 3 will be revealed in a live event on Friday afternoon Australian time – until then we – and that includes Andreas, have no idea what the Model 3 even looks like, what its features and inclusions are, what its electric driving range will be and perhaps critically what the price will be.
But that’s not stopping him. As the owner of a Toyota Corolla Seca right now, Andreas doesn’t even have a garage – “I’ve got two years to build one”.
He credits his 19-year-old son with putting him onto the story of Tesla – the very same son who will likely be keen for a drive in Dad’s Model 3 when he’s 21 years old.
Of course, Andreas is also aware he won’t be the first person in Australia to own a Model 3 – priority in the queue will go to current owners of a Model S, but still, his queuing up to be one of the first is a story he’s keen to share with his grandkids in the future.
Oh, and as for price – Andreas shares my view, the Model 3 will likely cost between $65,000 and $70,000 when it arrives in Australia in 2018.
In the meantime, let’s hope it doesn’t get too cold or wet. Andreas doesn’t have a tent, just a warm coat and a book. His iPhone battery isn’t that great so he’s likely to struggle to keep in touch with family while he’s there. Fortunately the Tesla staff have looked after him with coffee – and a ride in the Tesla Model S
