Tesla stated at present that it stays on monitor to provide and launch “extra inexpensive fashions” within the first half of subsequent yr, nevertheless it shared no new particulars on once we would possibly count on to listen to extra.
For a number of years now, Tesla has been teasing everybody with the promise of extra inexpensive fashions.
Whereas the Tesla Mannequin 3 is fairly fairly priced, many have been ready for a promised $25,000 mannequin, which many had taken to calling the “Mannequin 2.”
Tesla was supposedly going to pursue a brand new revolutionary “unboxed” manufacturing methodology to get prices down for the longer term automobile, to allow this lower cost.
Nevertheless, earlier this yr Tesla CEO Elon Musk refocused the corporate’s efforts on its recently-announced and a lot–delayed Robotaxi product and cancelled plans for a $25,000 automobile, as first reported by Reuters and denied by Musk. Reuters was later proven to be right in its report.
However even after that, Tesla has continued to state that it’s pursuing “extra inexpensive fashions,” with little extra element obtainable.
In at present’s earnings report, Tesla reiterated steerage stating that it nonetheless plans a extra inexpensive mannequin within the coming months, however that it received’t be practically as revolutionary as initially deliberate.
Right here’s the passage:
Plans for brand new automobiles, together with extra inexpensive fashions, stay on monitor for begin of manufacturing within the first half of 2025. These automobiles will make the most of facets of the following technology platform in addition to facets of our present platforms and can have the ability to be produced on the identical manufacturing strains as our present automobile line-up.
This strategy will end in attaining much less price discount than beforehand anticipated however allows us to prudently develop our automobile volumes in a extra capex environment friendly method throughout unsure occasions. This could assist us absolutely make the most of our present anticipated most capability of shut to 3 million automobiles, enabling greater than 50% progress over 2023 manufacturing earlier than investing in new manufacturing strains.
Our purpose-built Robotaxi product will proceed to pursue a revolutionary “unboxed” manufacturing technique.
This passage is definitely precisely the identical as what appeared in Tesla’s Q2 earnings, simply shifted ahead in time three months.
Elsewhere within the report, Tesla states that its “Subsequent Gen Platform” continues to be “In improvement,” for manufacturing in varied areas around the globe. Tesla at the moment operates automobile manufacturing services in California, Texas, Shanghai and Berlin.
Electrek’s Take
If Tesla’s timeline is to be believed, this new mannequin is coming in lower than 8 months. Whereas it’s not inconceivable that an organization can develop a mannequin in secret and get it on the highway inside 8 months of the general public studying about it, we’ve by no means seen a brand new Tesla mannequin go from introduction to manufacturing anyplace close to that rapidly.
It’s far more widespread for Tesla to maintain a giant launch celebration after which launch the automobile to the general public a few years later (typically with huge supply delays for sure specs or sure consumers).
Even refreshes normally have information leaked months upfront. We’ve seen a refreshed Mannequin Y driving round with what appears to be like like a extra Mannequin 3 highland-like entrance finish, and just lately heard rumors that the Mannequin Y refresh goes into trial manufacturing in Shanghai this week.
That refresh doubtless wouldn’t make it into the market till early subsequent yr, particularly in North America, if manufacturing is beginning in Shanghai first.
It’s virtually sufficient to make us marvel – is this the “extra inexpensive” mannequin that Tesla has been speaking about all this time? Only a refreshed Mannequin Y, maybe with course of enhancements that can allow Tesla to push the value down some?
In that case, that will be fairly disappointing. A refresh isn’t actually a brand new mannequin, and it’s unlikely to interrupt any new floor by way of turning into the lowest-priced Tesla ever (since we are able to’t think about they’d value the Mannequin Y decrease than the Mannequin 3).
And in the event that they’re not speaking in regards to the refresh, and certainly are speaking about an precise new mannequin – that simply provides one other product to Tesla’s mind-numbingly-crowded “subsequent yr,” the place Musk has acknowledged that the corporate will change the world in 6 – depend ’em, six – methods.
We actually hope a brand new cheaper mannequin is coming, particularly as Tesla’s choices (minus the polarizing Cybertruck) have turn into just a little bit stale. It may assist drive extra EV adoption by reaching a brand new lower cost level, may change perceptions of Tesla as a luxury-only automobile model, and will even herald new prospects for Mannequin 3/Y who had beforehand been turned off by that notion of Teslas as being “too costly” (regardless of, e.g., fairly enticing lease offers).
And particularly, it stays disappointing that Musk has chosen to concentrate on a pie-in-the-sky Robotaxi (which won’t be obtainable “subsequent yr,” for the tenth-or-so yr he’s stated it is going to be), and varied AI-buzzword nonsense, than what shoppers hold asking for – a less expensive EV mannequin. Reiteration that Tesla is engaged on one is nice, however we’ll stay unconvinced till Tesla shares extra particulars.
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