... the Bolt holds its own. So the verdict is that it's a tie!

Hollis Johnson

While the Model 3 has buzz and flash and sizzle and the full weight of Musk's charisma behind it, the Bolt is a car that you could drive home from your local Chevy dealership on the same day.

The Bolt has numerous disadvantages relative to the Model 3, but the Tesla has problems relative to the Chevy. In the end, they aren't really even in the same segment. The Model 3 is more of a luxury compact-to-midsize sedan, while the Bolt is a utilitarian compact hatchback.

But the Bolt punches well above its weight, while the Model 3 should be better for how much its costs at the upper end of its specifications.

Pricing is also an issue. Right now, you can have any Model 3 you preordered after a long wait — as long as it starts at $42,000. (Tesla isn't manufacturing the $35,000 base vehicle.) If you want the base Bolt, Chevy will gladly sell it to you for $37,500.

So if you want to get technical, the only true mass-market all-electric vehicle in the market is the Bolt.

Both cars are fun to drive, in their own ways. The Model S is stable, sporty, and fast off the line, but the Bolt, hardly a slug, affords a kind of video-game-like driving experience, especially when zipping around a city like New York.

As for self-driving, Tesla's Autopilot is an impressive advanced cruise-control feature — just don't ever take your hands off the wheel — but GM is using the Bolt as a platform for its Cruise fully-self-driving technology, and some of that might trickle down into consumer versions of the vehicle. (Cruise is using Bolts only in a fleet capacity right now.)

And not for nothing, the Bolt hit the market a year ahead of the Model 3, demonstrating that big slow GM could, to a certain extent, beat Tesla at its own game and deliver a less expensive long-range EV, at least initially.

Because there are few all-electric long-range vehicles in the market, if you're shopping today, you're basically looking at these two cars. And while the Model 3 is in many ways an objectively more impressive machine and carries with it that special Tesla something, the Chevy Bolt is far easier to obtain and wins on price, even without dealer discounts.

So I have to call it a dead heat. But remember to check back later this year after we get a chance to really put the Model 3 through its paces.