It’s a truism that the best way to make a small fortune in the car industry is to start with a large one. Elon Musk certainly qualifies on that front, a billionaire whose Trumpian fondness for Twitter sends the share value of his EV company, Tesla, into a bungee jump with an anvil tied to its ankles, only for it to bounce back. High finance loves Musk, no matter what he says (Tesla has had a market cap greater than Ford and GM’s, despite being persistently unprofitable, bar Q1 of 2013 and Q3 of 2016, when Tesla sold zero emission vehicle credits to other car manufacturers). The Guardian affords him more coverage in a week than it does to established car OEMs in a year. Meanwhile, Tesla fans patrol the internet ready to dispense justice to anyone ill-advised enough to naysay.

Amid all the noise, it’s easy to forget that this is still a car company, albeit one experiencing growing pains. When Musk announced the Model 3 last year, around 500,000 people ordered one. This is unprecedented, an ode to the fervour he inspires. But it’s a double-edged sword: Tesla has pledged to make 5,000 per week to satisfy the demand and that’s testing its still brittle production processes to the limit.

Why the excitement? After the Model S and Model X, the Model 3 isn’t just the Tesla that promises to transform the Californian disruptor into a volume carmaker, it’s also designed to add analogue interaction to the digitised “Millennium Falcon-in-hyperdrive” acceleration that the Model S in “Ludicrous Mode” supplies.

Three Model 3 versions are available in the US: Long Range Rear Wheel, Long Range Dual Motor and Performance, the last of which adds an AC induction motor upfront (as in the Model S and X) and a partially permanent magnet rear motor with silicon carbide inverters. One is performance-oriented, the other extends range.

The acceleration from a standing start is genuinely shocking. And it actually handles

Tesla reckons the Model 3 Performance is more aggressive and playful and a new Track Mode is available as an “over-the-air” upgrade. This adds a torque vectoring function and Tesla’s proprietary traction-control software, whose algorithmic parameters permit drifting. A Tesla that goes sideways? Someone really has been smoking something exotic.

A carbon-fibre spoiler improves stability at high speeds Nobody has supped longer on the Kool-Aid than the Tesla faithful, but I’m relieved to say that the Model 3 repays the evangelism. Outside, it has pleasingly sculpted volumes and manages to communicate Musk’s electrifying future focus without looking wilfully odd. It’s even better inside, junking traditional design tropes in favour of artful minimalism. The air vents span the length of the cabin, there are two column stalks (wipers and the drive selector) and while buttons still operate the windows, the rest of it is therapeutically sparse. The maximalism comes via the 15-inch central touchscreen, which runs a satnav and multimedia system that operates with alacrity.

Despite the well-publicised production travails, the Model 3 feels perfectly well assembled. It’s still eclipsed by the likes of Audi and BMW, but it is leagues ahead of other American motors and as rapid as many supercars. Power output is equivalent to approximately 450bhp (versus 271 for the standard car and 346 for the Dual Motor), with 471lb ft of torque. In the US, Tesla claims a 310-mile range.

As ever, given the wallop of torque you get in an EV, its acceleration is genuinely shocking (it’ll do 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds). And it actually handles. The batteries are positioned in such a way that the Model 3 is effectively mid-engined. And its centre of gravity is good too. So you really can get busy with it, aided by decent body control and accurate steering.

So, is it as much fun as a Mercedes-AMG C63 or BMW M3? No. I like changing gear and I love the noise of a high-performance internal combustion engine. But new-gen drivers aren’t bothered about that stuff and the Model 3 Performance adds a major shot of adrenalin to the zero-emissions saintliness of EVs.

Sure, there are still significant infrastructural issues in the UK and we could do with more supercharger points. Unlike the Model S and X, you also have to pay as you charge. Install a domestic wall box and you can juice up at a rate of 16.5kW (adding 51 miles of range per hour). No word on pricing yet, but when the Model 3 lands here in 2019, £40,000 is the likely entry point. Not cheap. Still, this is Musk’s Model T moment, a major milestone. Consider me converted.

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