There have been a lot of rumors about a cheap Tesla, some saying it's a Model 2, some saying it's a hatchback. But what exactly a cheap Tesla looks like, it's unclear. But Tesla's plan to build an entry-level electric car has always existed.
Recently, Reuters reported that Tesla plans to launch low-cost models. It is reported that the development project of the next-generation small crossover model, codenamed Redwood, will start production in June 2025. It is expected that it will take some time to wait until it is officially launched.
Redwood is expected to produce 10,000 units per day, double the Model Y's production of 5,000 units per day. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has mentioned in the past that 2020 will launch in 3 years$50,000 fully autonomous driving (FSD) car. But at present, this plan has not been realized, and the cheapest Tesla is still the Model 3.
However, recently, Tesla announced at its earnings conference that it expects to produce a new generation of models at its Texas plant in the second half of 2025. In addition, the cheapest model 3 in Tesla cars has a starting price of 3 in the North American market$89.9 million, taking into account various economic conditions, it is expected that the ** of the new car will be in the early $30,000s.
Reuters said in an interview with Tesla that Tesla issued a tender invitation to the company in 2023 for the Redwood project. Internally, it is also expected to use a new Tesla architecture called NV9X. Based on this architecture, Tesla CEO Elon Musk plans to launch more driverless taxis.
Tesla's investors are also looking to launch lower-priced models. Before the last earnings conference, the most common question investors asked about Tesla was "when will the next generation of small cars be launched". However, some experts believe that because the profit margin is lower than that of the internal combustion engine, for Tesla, which has repeatedly implemented price cuts recently, low-priced electric vehicles will not help much in earnings. But it is of great help to expand the market share. After all, the Chinese brand BYD has become the world's No. 1 electric vehicle brand by introducing cheaper new energy vehicles.
It is reported that Tesla's R&D team disassembled and analyzed Honda's popular compact car "Civic" in order to study ways to make cheap cars. The Honda Civic starts at $2 in the United States$39.5 million.