Tesla has cancelled a much-discussed reasonably priced EV, but it’ll proceed to develop autonomous vehicles based on the identical platform, Reuters reported Friday, citing three anonymous sources aware of the matter.
Two sources told Reuters they learned of the choice to desert the reasonably priced EV, considered a crossover targeting a $25,000 base price, in a big meeting that one said happened in late February. That person said Tesla CEO Elon Musk has instructed Tesla to “go all in on robotaxi.”
Tesla Model 3
The third source also told Reuters that the reasonably priced Tesla EV had been cancelled, adding that the automaker was now planning to provide the autonomous robotaxis in much smaller volumes than had been anticipated for the reasonably priced crossover, which might have significantly undercut Tesla’s current least expensive vehicle, the Model 3, which starts at just below $40,000.
Reuters also reported that internal Tesla messages referenced the choice to cancel the entry-level model. One from March 1 from an unnamed manager on this system reportedly discussed the entry-level model’s scrapping with engineering staff and advised them to carry off on telling suppliers “about program cancellation.”
BYD Atto 3
The report was substantially edited after its original publication, including a reference to a post from Musk on the social-media site X accusing Reuters of lying.
Reuters speculates that Musk’s delay in committing to an entry-level model has made launching one much harder as a result of increased competition from Chinese automakers. While Tesla worked on launching the Cybertruck and Musk focused more on his other businesses, Chinese automakers doubled down on reasonably priced models, grabbing market share in China and Europe and weakening the business case for a low-margin $25,000 EV, Reuters reasons.
Musk in 2020 said Tesla’s next-generation platform would make a $25,000 EV possible. And just earlier this yr Reuters reported that Tesla was telling suppliers that it wanted to begin production on a vehicle based on this next-generation platform in 2025.
This Article First Appeared At www.motorauthority.com
