Tesla
says
it
will
build
more
affordable
electric
vehicles
—
perhaps
as
soon
as
2025
—
refuting
recent
reports
that
Tesla
CEO
Elon
Musk
had
canceled
plans
for
a
cheaper
“Model
2”
vehicle
in
favor
of
getting
a
robotaxi
out
the
door.
But
Musk
didn’t
clarify
whether
the
lower-cost
EV
would
be
a
brand
new
model
for
Tesla
or
simplified
versions
of
its
current
vehicles.
“In
terms
of
a
new
product
roadmap,
there’s
been
a
lot
of
talk,”
Musk
said
during
the
company’s
first
quarter
earnings
call,
addressing
the
concerns
investors
have
expressed
over
the
past
month
about
the
delayed
plans
for
a
low-cost
EV.
“We’ve
updated
our
future
vehicle
lineup
to
accelerate
the
launch
of
new
models.”
Musk
said
we
might
see
the
vehicles
in
early
2025,
if
not
later
this
year.
“In
terms
of
a
new
product
roadmap,
there’s
been
a
lot
of
talk”
The
vehicles
will
blend
“aspects”
of
a
next-generation
platform
with
the
current
platform
that
undergirds
the
company’s
top-selling
Model
3
and
Model
Y.
“This
is
not
contingent
on
a
new
factory
or
massive
new
production
lines,
it’ll
be
made
on
our
current
production
lines
much
more
efficiently,”
Musk
said,
predicting
it
could
accelerate
the
company’s
production
to
over
3
million
vehicles
a
year.
Tesla
has
reported
$21
million
in
revenue
for
the
first
quarter
of
2024,
a
9
percent
drop
year
over
year.
Net
income
dropped
55
percent
to
$1.1
billion.
The
company
sold
fewer
models
this
quarter
as
demand
for
electric
vehicles
cooled.
Analysts
say
a
more
affordable
model
is
crucial
to
Tesla’s
future
growth.
Musk
started
the
call
by
addressing
concerns
that
the
market
is
emphasizing
the
development
of
hybrid
vehicles
over
fully
electric
ones,
which
he
believes
is
“not
the
right
strategy.”
“We’ll
talk
about
this
more
on
August
8th.”
“We’ll
talk
about
this
more
on
August
8th,”
Musk
said,
as
he
reemphasized
that
7
million
cars
by
the
end
of
this
year
will
be
part
of
a
robotaxi
fleet.
August
8th
is
the
date
Tesla
plans
to
unveil
a
new
robotaxi
vehicle.
Although
Tesla
is
again
promising
to
release
cheaper
EVs,
it
hasn’t
confirmed
whether
entirely
new
cheap
models
will
come.
It’s
possible
cheaper
models
could
just
be
stripped
down
Model
3
and
Model
Y
vehicles,
which
alone
drive
the
majority
of
the
company’s
revenues.
Right
now,
you
can
buy
a
Model
3
for
$38,990,
which
is
nearly
the
cheapest
the
vehicle
has
ever
been
—
but
still
not
at
the
elusive
$35,000
price
point
that
was
promised
almost
a
decade
ago.
The
company
has
promised
that
a
simplified
“unboxed”
manufacturing
process
will
bring
down
costs
even
further.
When
asked
directly
by
an
investor
about
cheaper
EVs
like
Model
2
and
where
Musk’s
“heart
is
at,”
Musk
largely
shut
down
on
the
subject.
In
contrast,
he
was
happy
to
go
on
at
length
about
autonomy,
self-driving,
and
even
aliens.
“If
you
have
a
great
product
at
a
great
price,
sales
will
be
excellent,”
Musk
said
at
one
point,
responding
to
a
question
about
value.
He
said
Tesla
will
keep
improving
affordability
to
make
the
“value
for
money”
better.
Original author: Umar Shakir
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