Now The Model 3 Is Out, Will Cars Ever Be The Same Again?

The reception that the Model 3 received in the popular press has been nothing short of remarkable. Reviewers from major newspapers who are used to stepping into some of the most impressive cars in the world were left speechless after being introduced to Tesla’s new car: a vehicle that is unlike anything else on the road.

The first thing most reviewers talked about wasn’t the battery technology or the autonomy, but the layout of the interior. Tesla has done away with all of the usual knobs and dials we’re used to seeing on the interior of our cars. Instead, it’s replaced them with a single, central touch-screen console which controls practically everything, from the navigation to the stereo. For many seasoned reviewers at outlets like Business Insider, Top Gear, and the Guardian, it was the first time they’d ever seen an uncluttered dashboard, and they liked it.

One of the many cool things about the Model 3 dashboard is the single air vent that runs the full breadth of the cockpit. Drivers can adjust how the air comes out by moving the position of a slider to adjust the flow of air. Other than the basic driving controls, like a steering wheel and some paddles for the gears, there are no buttons anywhere. It’s a surreal experience and reminiscent of what Apple did to consumer gadgets. Once upon a time, they weren’t sexy and had lots of buttons, but Steve Jobs changed all that practically overnight.

With the Model 3, Tesla is doing the same with cars. After decades of slow, incremental improvements in the car industry, all of a sudden we have a vehicle on our hands that promises to change everything. Other car companies are going to have to keep pace, otherwise, they’ll fall by the wayside just like Nokia did when Apple released the first smartphone in 2007.

The Model 3 Will Make Cars Safer

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Some innovative car companies, like Volvo, have promised to make their cars so safe that nobody dies in them by 2020. And you can understand why. Selling a product that kills people isn’t exactly great PR for businesses and is why we have attorneys focused on car accident representation. But when Volvo first announced its ambition to reduce injury and death, it planned on doing it using old-fashioned methods, like better airbags and roll bars in its car. It never imagined that artificial intelligence could render accidents a thing of the past.

The Model 3’s release could be perhaps the greatest innovation in public health so far this century. Every year a million people get killed on the roads. The Model 3 provides the basis of a vehicle that could potentially change all that by taking over from humans in more and more driving situations. Tesla’s focus on safety is evident, right from the outset. Each Model 3 is packed with the latest safety equipment and also a driver-facing camera which will keep an eye on drivers and make sure that they are concentrating on the road ahead.

The Trip To The Gas Station Will Be Different

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Driving around looking for the gas station is just something we accept as a normal part of our lives. But imagine if there was a gas station on every street corner. That’s effectively the scenario we’re looking at with electric cars. Because running wires along roads is so cheap compared to traditional gas stations, it’s very likely charging stations will pop up anywhere that’s economical, including car parks, busy streets, and public attractions. And given that the Model 3 is the world’s first mass-market electric car with over 500,000 pre-orders, it seems like this future may come sooner than expected.

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Travelling Will No Longer Be Associated With Destroying The Planet

For years, traveling has been associated with planetary annihilation. Al Gore has taught us all that the cars we drive will deny our children a future. But the Model 3 changes all that. Battery cars in and of themselves don’t produce any emissions. And when they are charged from renewable sources, they produce zero CO2 during their operation. Thus, rather than getting into their cars and imagining all the destruction they are wreaking on the environment, consumers will feel as good getting into their cars as they do buying vegetables from Whole Foods. A world in which transportation isn’t condemned will look and feel completely different.

The Model 3, therefore, is more than a product. It, and cars like it, will reshape fundamental aspects of our society and make the world a better place.