When asked about the progress of a $25,000 car on Tesla’s Q4 earnings call in 2021, CEO Elon Musk said such a product is not yet in the works.
Musk said that Tesla (TSLA) – Get Free Report had “too much on our plate” to focus on developing a cheap, more accessible electric car.
It didn’t take long, however, for Musk’s standpoint to shift.
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Speaking at the 2022 B20 Indonesia summit, Musk said that Tesla was of the mind that making a cheap EV “would make a lot of sense. And we should do something.”
And at Tesla’s 2023 Investor Day in March, Musk unveiled a new manufacturing system — Tesla’s next-generation platform — which he said will be used to produce the $25,000 car, in addition to a robotaxi.
Deepwater’s Gene Munster said at the time that he didn’t expect the new platform to be rolled out until 2025 at the earliest.
“The formula for decoding Musk is pretty simple. Take whatever time frame he has, and multiply it by two,” Munster said.
Still, the analyst said that such a car could “double Tesla’s business.”
Gary Black, managing partner of The Future Fund, has been saying for months that a $25,000 next-gen vehicle remains among the strongest catalysts for the business, alongside a potential improvement in self-driving technology and a regular growth in EV adoption.
Black has a $300 price target for Tesla.
Related: Why Elon Musk’s high Cybertruck pricing is actually a good thing
Musk: Next-gen platform is a ‘gamechanger’
Speaking with engineer Sandy Munro of Munro & Assocaties on Dec. 5, Musk highlighted some of the work Tesla is doing on the cheap, next-gen model, work that comes as price cuts have forced the cost of some Tesla models below the $40,000 mark (before incentives kick in).
“We are working on a low cost electric vehicle that will be made at very high volume. We’re quite far advanced in that work,” Musk said. “I view the production line plans for that every week and I think the revolution in manufacturing that will be represented by that car will blow people’s minds.”
“It’s not like any car production line that anyone’s ever seen,” he added.
Tesla recently began deliveries of its highly-anticipated Cybertruck.
Though he demurred from providing insight into volume and prospective production dates, Musk said that the next-gen platform will be an “absolute game changer.”
The first production line, he said, will be at Tesla’s gigafactory headquarters in Texas. The second will be at Tesla’s future gigafactory in Mexico.
“The thing that’s most interesting about this is it’s a level of production technology that’s far in advance of any automotive plant on Earth,” Musk said. “It’s going to be cool.”
Tesla did not respond to TheStreet’s request for comment.
Shares of Tesla rose more than 1.5% at last check Tuesday.
Contact Ian with tips via email, [email protected], or Signal 732-804-1223.
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