Tesla Motors' more affordable Model 3 will provide at least 215 miles of electric range on a charge when it arrives in late 2017, CEO Elon Musk told an audience who gathered in Hawthorne, Calif., for the car's unveiling.

The base Model 3 will retail for $35,000 and will include Autopilot mode as a standard feature. The Model 3 will reach 0-60 mph in under six seconds and use supercharging to extend its range. It will have a front and rear trunk, and be able to achieve five-star safety ratings in all categories, Musk said.

At the end of the unveiling, 115,000 people had put down a $1,000 deposit toward the purchase of a Model 3, Musk announced. On April 1, about 198,000 refundable deposits had been collected.

Musk reiterated his goal to produce 500,000 vehicles in a year, and said sales of the Model S and Model X have funded the development of the higher-volume, more affordable Model 3. Musk said the Gigafactory that will produce the lithium-ion battery packs to enable the production goal is now operational.

The company's vehicles play one part in reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and reducing global warming, he said at the start of the unveiling.