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In brief: Electric cars are expensive – something that's especially true when it comes to Tesla's models. Elon Musk's firm has said for years that it plans to sell a more affordable EV, and it has now repeated claims that it will finally arrive sometime in the first half of 2025.
In the company's third quarter earnings report, Tesla wrote that preparations remain underway for its offering of new vehicles. These include more affordable models, which will begin launching in the first half of next year.
After killing off the entry-level Model 3 Standard Range this month, which had a sticker price of $38,990, the cheapest vehicle Tesla currently sells is the Long Range rear-wheel drive Model 3, priced at $42,490 before subsidies. Engadget notes that the average price of its 2024 models is just over $63,000.
Back in 2020, Tesla announced an upcoming new EV that could cost just $25,000. The lower price was supposedly possible thanks to the use of a modular "unboxed" manufacturing process that would allow Tesla to work on separate sections of the vehicle individually before bringing them together for a final assembly.
Plans for the new car, codenamed NV9 (often referred to as the Model 2), were reportedly abandoned earlier this year so the company could focus on the recently revealed robotaxis. But investors weren't happy, and Musk recommitted to producing more affordable vehicles.
We still don't know if this cheaper Tesla will be a brand-new model; there has been talk of a compact crossover, or something that looks more like a compact Model Y than a hatchback-style Model 3. The EV could also simply be a cheaper version of the Model 3 or a refreshed Model Y.
It appears that Tesla is abandoning its plan to use the unboxed manufacturing process for its new affordable vehicles. The company wrote that it will utilize aspects of the next-generation platform as well as its current platforms and the same manufacturing lines as its current vehicle lineup.
It also sounds as if the new EV, while cheaper, won't have a price tag as low as $25,000. "This approach [to manufacturing] will result in achieving less cost reduction than previously expected but enables us to prudently grow our vehicle volumes in a more capex efficient manner during uncertain times," Tesla wrote, repeating what it said in its Q2 earnings.
Masthead: Duren Williams