REUTERS/Joe White/File Photo
Tesla's Model 3 sedan.
Tesla is still actively trying to avoid misperceptions about its long-awaited Model 3 as it inches closer to production.The electric carmaker has designed a new webpage to clarify that the Model 3 is not a next-generation Model S.
"Model 3 is designed and built as a mass market, affordable electric vehicle. Although it will be our newest vehicle, Model 3 is not 'Version 3' or the most advanced Tesla," the webpage reads.
Tesla is so concerned that people are misinterpreting the Model 3 that it wrote about the need to temper expectations in an SEC filing in early May. Tesla CEO Elon Musk made similar comments on Twitter in March.
"Moving past Q2, particularly as Model 3 becomes available, one of our challenges will be to eliminate any misperception about the differences between Model S and Model 3," Tesla wrote in the filing.
The Model 3 is Tesla's first mass-market sedan priced at $35,000. Production is slated to begin in July, putting pressure on Tesla to clear up any marketing confusion in the next several weeks.
Musk said the Model 3 name has led to confusion among buyers that it's a next-generation Tesla.
Tesla had initially planned to dub the car the Model E in order to have a line-up that spelt "sexy," but Ford filed for the Model E trademark before Tesla, leading Musk to opt for Model 3.
Musk said the move has led to confusion as buyers wait for the Model 3 release, thinking it will be a better car than the Model S.
The confusion has affected Model S sales, Musk has said.
"We're going to be a broken record on this front," Musk said. "But we really have to be emphatic for an error that I, unfortunately, take full responsibility in naming something that inherently would cause confusion in marketing."
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