Elon Musk reveals a tentative timeline for the $35,000 Tesla Model 3

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If you want to know what Tesla's affordable electric car, the Model 3, will look like, you'll need to wait about a year.

CEO Elon Musk revealed on a company earnings call Wednesday that the company plans to unveil the Tesla Model 3 — which is expected to cost about $35,000 before government subsidies — in March 2016, although he quickly backpedaled and said that the date could change.

"I mean, we are hoping to show off the Model 3 in approximately March of next year," Musk said, according to a transcript of the call. "Again, like, don't hold me to that month, but that's, like — that's our aspiration."

Musk also revealed a target date for the car to go on sale, which would be mid 2017 at the earliest, though he expects the real date would be later that year.

The current cheapest Tesla, the Model S 70D, costs $75,000. Other carmakers have grabbed headlines for announcing and releasing electric vehicles that are much less expensive. The Nissan Leaf starts at $29,000, and GM unveiled $30,000 Chevy Bolt earlier this year; it's expected to be on the road in 2017.

According the Kelley's Blue Book, the average buying price of a new car in the U.S. in 2013 was $32,086.
Musk also gave a progress report on the Tesla Model X, the company's electric SUV. He said customers would be able to begin ordering the vehicle in July 2015, and cars would likely begin shipping in Q4.

A photo posted by Lance Ulanoff (@lanceulanoff) on