Tesla Set To Make ‘Cheaper' Models In June – May Be Knockoff Of Model 3 Or Model Y

Forbes

27-04-2025

The affordable Tesla has been coming for a long time. But now, Tesla's CFO has put a stake in the ground and said June.
The idea for a $25,000 Tesla was first mentioned in 2018 by CEO Elon Musk. He said at that time it's 'something we can do in three years." He pushed the timeline out at Tesla's Battery Day event in September of 2020, when he announced plans for a $25,000 electric vehicle that would be 'fully autonomous' and doable within three years. Anyway, you get the idea. A more affordable model has always been a few years away.
Now cheaper Teslas appear to be only a couple of months away. 'We're still focused on bringing cheaper models to market soon,' said Tesla chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja during the first quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday. 'The start of production is still planned for June,' he said. But Taneja also seemed to be tempering expectations. "There's always limitations when you're using existing lines as to how many different form factors [we can do]
The upshot: don't expect a radically new design. 'The models that come out in the next months will be built on our lines and will resemble in form and shape the cars we currently make,' said Lars Moravy, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering during the earnings call on Tuesday. 'The key is that they'll be affordable and you'll be able to buy one,' he said.
But Moravy was cautious too. 'As with all launches, we're working through like the last-minute issues that pop up,' he said. "We're knocking them down one by one. At this point, I would say that ramp maybe -- might be a little slower than we had hoped initially," he said.
A 24 month lease on a Rear-Wheel Drive Model 3 is $349 with $0 down and 10,000 miles a year. If Tesla can build an even more affordable EV than the Model 3 with minimal compromise, the car could sell in the kind of volume the company needs to keep growing. 'Our intent is not to make a car that is any worse than any car we've ever produced in the past," said Moravy on Tuesday.
Tesla is having a tough time right now. In the first quarter, the company posted its worst results in four years. Revenue in Tesla's core automotive business plunged 20% year-over-year, declining to $14 billion, the weakest since the third quarter of 2021. And Tuesday's results follow Tesla's weaker than expected Q1 vehicle deliveries – posted earlier this month – when the company said it delivered 337,000 vehicles during the quarter, its worst vehicle delivery growth since 2022 and coming in 17% below consensus analyst delivery forecasts.
Tesla may be trying to get out in front of a global push for low-cost EVs, particularly in China, the largest EV market in the world. The BYD Seagull has been sold in China since 2023, priced between $10,000 and $11,000. BYD also sells the Dolphin hatchback in China starting at around $11,000. In the U.S. the Slate Truck was revealed from U.S.-based startup Slate Thursday in Long Beach, Calif., with the company promising that the first trucks would be available for under $20,000 (but note that's with the federal EV tax credit) by the end of 2026.