Tesla enjoys showcasing its newest innovations at staged events that millions worldwide watch. Additionally, it arranges an annual shareholders meeting where the company’s financial efficiency and future goals are discussed. Auto Evolution reported that the EV giant unveiled its 3rd gen vehicle platform.
Tesla’s Investor Day
In this reference, we assume the recently announced Investor Day differs from shareholder meetings. Tesla will likely seize the opportunity to impress investors rather than provide detailed instructions.
Despite the press release’s lack of specifics, it does mention that Tesla will give “some of its institutional and retail investors who attend in person” a tour of the Gigafactory Texas. It demonstrates Tesla’s “most advanced production line” and how things will operate. Along with providing an update on its future “generation 3” vehicle platform, Tesla will also give investors a long-term expansion plan.
As a result, we can confidently say that Tesla investors won’t be let down on March 1, even though they won’t bet on anything Elon Musk may say. Although future Tesla gigafactories may be of greater interest to investors, the next-generation car platform that Tesla is developing is much more intriguing.
The 3rd gen EV platform
The upcoming platform is expected to support a smaller Tesla car, ushering in the democracy of electric vehicles. Elon Musk had previously suggested that he might perceive a more affordable Tesla. However, it would make little sense when all the pricey Tesla models were sold out.
But those days are long gone, and Tesla is having trouble selling its cars.
Tesla’s demand issue
Tesla manufactured about 55,000 more vehicles than it sold, according to preliminary fourth-quarter results. It changed the original production issue into a demand issue.
Tesla could undoubtedly adjust its prices, given that it has the highest industry profit margin. Another strategy for increasing sales is through incentives, which the EV manufacturer already uses to expedite vehicle delivery. However, Tesla would soon require a fresh, even more, affordable product to continue expanding.
How can the 3rd gen platform aid Tesla’s demand issues?
The “generation 3 platform” must be helpful here. Taking Elon Musk’s statements at face value, this should make it possible to build an electric vehicle for half the price of the 3/Y platform.
Moreover, the resulting automobiles will be smaller than the existing top sellers. Given that the Model 3 was intended to cost $35,000 but is now $46,990, we’re still determining whether a $25,000 cost structure is possible. Suppose we were to consult our crystal ball.
In that case, we’d predict that the Model 3 will be sold for at least $5,000 less than its initial retail value, while the smaller model should cost about $35,000 instead.
