Months after promising a $35,000 base Model 3 in the United States, Tesla appears to have only just recently begun offering the “Standard Range” variant to the public. The vehicle comes with locked features and a 10-percent reduction in maximum range. However, most of the models milling around on public roads appear to be Standard Range Plus variants waiting on an over-the-air update to convert them into a normal SR.

Meanwhile, Tesla is looking at the Chinese market and calculating what the Model 3 will be worth there. It’s even asking Asian customers to hazard a guess as to what its base MSRP will be, claiming it has a big announcement scheduled for May 31. 

Bloomberg, which has already taken a stab at Tesla’s guessing game, cites inside sources who claim Tesla is currently considering pricing the vehicle between 300,000 yuan ($43,400) and 350,00 yuan ($50,600) before incentives. However, at least one source claims the official Chinese MSRP has yet to be finalized and was unable to confirm if the end-of-month announcement is even related to the matter.

Considering that Chinese production of the Model 3 is still months away, Friday’s announcement has a decent chance of being about something else. Still, Tesla’s effort to encourage future customers to estimate the vehicle’s price means the company is actively thinking about it.

Certification documents from nearby Australia suggest Tesla will bring the pricier Performance and Long Range variants of the Model 3 for its initial launch, and the same could be true for China — meaning the global rollout would mimic what we’ve seen in the United States. Lower-margin variants probably won’t be a priority until worldwide demand for the well-equipped Model 3 peters out.

From TTAC.com