The unbearable “No… but” from Tesla about its low-cost car

Elon Musk took advantage of Tesla’s quarterly earnings release to confirm that there are no plans for a low-cost Tesla. Well, almost none.

It was a grumpy Elon Musk who appeared on our screens last night during the video conference announcing Tesla’s quarterly results. This is yet another illustration of the entrepreneur’s perplexing nature, as the results for his brand are pretty good, at least better than expected. However, it was a highly anticipated question that ignited the situation. “What is the status of Tesla’s $25,000 car project?” And off we went into a high-flying Elon Show with this stinging reply: “A mass-produced model at $25,000 is unnecessary. It is totally stupid and contrary to all our convictions.”

Before going further, let’s remind ourselves that it was Musk himself who fueled rumors for years about a $25,000 entry-level Tesla. It was Elon Musk who claimed on stage at a big Tesla Show in 2020 that the car would arrive within three years. It was Elon Musk who last year said that the low-cost Tesla would be an absolute marvel of design with a chassis stamped from a single piece. But in April, rumors that Tesla had abandoned plans for this budget car, informally called Model 2, in favor of the Robotaxi started to grow until confirmation was given on October 10 during the presentation of the infamous Robotaxi. A decision that was very poorly received by the stock markets which immediately punished the stock.

Elon Musk is therefore clear: no specific $25,000 car exists because it already does. Excuse me??? “The Robotaxi will cost around $25,000, so that’s the $25,000 car.” As François Pignon wisely states in the Dinner of Fools, well, that’s very twisted, but incredibly smart! However, this is hardly a surprise as we mentioned two weeks ago: What if the Robotaxi was just a camouflaged Tesla costing €20,000?

So, it will be necessary to subtract $5,000 from the Robotaxi, which is announced at $30,000. This won’t be achieved by removing interior accessories as it is already completely stripped down, but perhaps, on the contrary, by adding some! If we eliminate all the technology related to fully autonomous driving and add a few parts like a steering wheel or pedals, it would be no problem to slash the costs like snow in the sun…

ALSO READ: Tesla Robotaxis as a tourist attraction? Awesome!