Tesla has announced a strategic shift in its product plan to introduce more affordable electric vehicles that will be manufactured on its current production lines, deviating from its previous strategy of developing a ‘next-generation vehicle platform’ for cheaper EVs.
The automaker’s new approach aims to streamline manufacturing processes and reduce costs, making electric cars more accessible to a broader market. Tesla had previously outlined plans for two vehicles on the next-generation platform:
- a model cheaper and smaller than Model 3, sometimes being referred as the “$25,000 Tesla” or “Model 2”
- Tesla Robotaxi: a new vehicle designed from the ground-up for self-driving.
Recent reports had suggested that Tesla had scrapped plans for the affordable car, prompting CEO Elon Musk to denounce such claims as “lies.”
In its Q1 2024 financial results, Tesla confirmed the revision of its product roadmap to expedite the launch of new models before the previously projected start of production in the latter half of 2025.
“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 stated.
The new vehicles, including more affordable models, will incorporate elements of the next-generation platform as well as current platforms, allowing them to be manufactured on the same production lines as Tesla’s existing vehicle lineup.
While the change in plans may result in a lesser cost reduction than initially anticipated, Tesla emphasized that this approach would enable the company to expand its vehicle volumes efficiently, leveraging its current manufacturing capacity of nearly three million vehicles. This would represent a growth of over 50% compared to 2023 production levels without the need for new manufacturing lines.
