Tesla announced on Tuesday its decision to change its original plans for the production technology of cheaper electric cars and their timeline.
The move is apparently part of the company’s strategy to accelerate the rollout of the highly-awaited next-gen Tesla EVs.
Original plan
For context, Tesla originally planned to launch a new production process, the “unboxed system,” to produce lower-cost electric vehicles. It previously teased two upcoming models for the planned platform, including:
- “$25,000 Tesla,” “Model 2” OR “NV9” – cheaper and smaller than the Tesla Model 3 sedan
- Tesla Robotaxi – a new autonomous vehicle Tesla developed from scratch
International news outlet Reuters recently reported Tesla’s move to ditch the $25,000 car. However, Tesla Chief Elon Musk denied the report without specifying any inaccuracies in the report
Previous reports also claimed that the company discontinued the Gigafactory Texas expansion project for the new model codenamed NV9.
Next-gen Tesla EVs are coming
Tesla finally confirmed plan changes for the next-gen models that will supposedly ride on the new platform with the release of its Q1 2024 financial report.
The electric vehicle giant indicated in the report that it plans to speed up the launch of the new models with an update on its previously announced lineup.
“We have updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025.”
Tesla
Tesla now plans to combine its current platforms and the planned next-gen platform, enabling it to produce the upcoming EVs on the same lines as the current models.
“These new vehicles, including more affordable models, will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup.”
Tesla
According to the Musk-led company, the plan changes are part of its strategy to boost its current volume during “uncertain times.”
“This update may 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. This would help us fully utilize our current expected maximum capacity of close to three million vehicles, enabling more than 50% growth over 2023 production before investing in new manufacturing lines.”
Tesla
Robotaxi will still ride on the new “unboxed” system.
Despite the recent plan changes, Tesla announced that the upcoming Robotaxi will still feature the new “unboxed” system.
“Our purpose-built robotaxi product will continue to pursue a revolutionary “unboxed” manufacturing strategy.”
Tesla
Excitingly, Tesla recently declared that it will finally reveal the new Robotaxi on August 8th this year. During the earnings call yesterday, CEO Elon Musk revealed a new name for the Robotaxi – “Cybercab.”
It remains unclear whether the new cheaper models hinted at yesterday are the same “next-gen” vehicles Tesla teased before or an all-new lineup. It must be noted that without using the unboxed system, Tesla may have difficulty delivering its promised $25,000 price point.
Tesla has already exhausted a lot of cost-reduction prospects on the current platform and production lines. That said, the models will undoubtedly be smaller and cheaper. However, their price may not hit the previous estimate.
