The post-Model 3 reveal reveals: What we know about the new Tesla four days out

The rear window. (credit: Megan Geuss)

When Elon Musk took the stage Thursday night at his Hawthorne design facility, the CEO of Tesla revealed a pre-production prototype of the Model 3, the company’s highly anticipated $35,000 car. The presentation was short and included a summary of Tesla’s history, a status update on the Gigafactory, and a look at how Tesla plans to expand its supercharger stations.

Actual details about the Model 3's specifications were slim. We learned that it will come with top-rated safety features and supercharging, even for the basic version of the car. We learned that all the Model 3s will come with the hardware necessary for autopilot features. (Although certain autonomous functions will require the customer to buy an upgrade.) And we learned the car will go 215 miles on a single charge at a minimum, and it will get from zero to 60 in “less than six seconds.”

Before the event, Musk called Thursday night’s event "Part 1" of the Model 3's debut, later adding that “Part 2 is super next level, but that’s for later…” The Model 3 isn’t due out of production until the end of 2017.