At 8:30 (or so) Pacific Daylight Time last night, Elon Musk took the stage to introduce the Tesla Model 3 to a group of Tesla owners and media. He began by recapping the company's "Secret Master Plan" from 2006, which included the small-batch Roadster, the luxury Model S (but not the Model X SUV, which is kind of a side project), and the mass market, affordable Model 3.

Musk said he is "fairly confident" that the new model will be rolling off the assembly line and onto roads in late 2017. That earned him a laugh from the Tesla-savvy crowd who has seen many a deadline whoosh past the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer.

How affordable will the new mid-size all-electric sedan be? $35,000 for the base model, which will do 0-60 mph in under 6 seconds and have an EPA-rated range of at least 215 miles. There will of course be trim levels above the basics that get you farther, faster. But these are the minimum numbers Tesla plans to hit. Also, every model, from the entry level up, will have standard autopilot hardware and safety features.