I think Tesla's decision to launch a cheaper brand of vehicle, the Tesla 3, as well as switching to online sales only, is their way of switching slowly from a top of the line luxury brand vehicle, to a luxury class vehicle. "Luxury Class" vehicles, the Chrysler C-300 for example, sells for anywhere from $30k - $50k, with the C-300 being roughly $35k if I recall correctly. So Tesla is moving into an area where the prices are MUCH more attractive to normal buyers. Building on top of this is the switch to online-only shopping. A few years ago this would have been a terrible decision. Now with sites like Carvana paving the way for online car sales, Tesla stands to potentially both profit and expand this new market space.

Of course, however, this will be determined by Tesla's ability to produce the amount they say they can, at the price they have previously specified. Their cost-cutting approach of switching to online-only solves this issue, and a cheaper model Tesla could allow for faster production times. If both of these pan out, then Tesla could very well remake themselves into a new brand of car manufacturer less focused on "Green-Collar" ideas, but on technological advances instead.