Forget About The Tesla Roadster And $25,000 EV But A Flying Car Could Happen, Says Elon
In 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company would launch a $25,000 EV within three years, once battery technology had improved and manufacturing costs had fallen. He reset that timeline with similar comments during Tesla’s 2020 Battery Day. It’s now six years since the initial promise, and there’s still no sign of a Tesla in that price bracket. Just last year, while dodging questions about its arrival, Musk said the EV was still coming, adding that it would operate autonomously and earn its owners money.
However, this year, he stopped talking about a new low-cost platform altogether and instead began suggesting making cheaper versions of existing models. When media outlets reported that this appeared to be the case, he took to social media to refute the reports. Yet, in Tesla’s latest earnings call this week, he called a car the masses can affordably drive “silly” and “pointless.” He also tempered expectations for the Tesla Roadster but hinted at a flying car. Hmmm…
Tesla
Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle manufacturer largely attributed to driving the EV revolution. Through the Model S and subsequent products, Tesla has innovated and challenged industry conventions on numerous fronts, including over-the-air updates, self-driving technology, and automotive construction methods. Tesla is considered the world’s most valuable car brand as of 2023, and the Model Y the world’s best-selling car in the same year, but the brand’s greatest achievement is arguably the Supercharger network of EV charging stations.
- Founded
- July 1, 2003
- Founder
- Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas, USA
- Owned By
- Publicly Traded
- Current CEO
- Elon Musk
Why A Cheap EV Makes No Sense For Tesla Anymore
Musk was directly asked during the earnings call yesterday, “When can we expect Tesla to give us the $25,000 regular non-Robotaxi car model?” There’s no way of skirting such a pointed question, but a stammering Elon still tried by saying, “I think we’ve been very clear that the future is autonomous,” adding that the Cybercab is revolutionary and will shape the future. He dwelled on the subject of autonomy for a while before finally confirming what he previously would not: Tesla will not build a $25,000 car that people can own and drive.
“Basically, having a regular [$]25k model is pointless. It would be silly. It would be completely at odds with what we believe.”
– Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, in response to an investor querying the timeline for the long-promised $25,000 EV.
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Previously, Musk’s position had been that Tesla would produce a $25,000 electric vehicle “that’s also fully autonomous” (emphasis ours). Now, he’s saying that Tesla’s resources should only be focused on solving autonomy. While we concede that a breakthrough to true Level 5 fully autonomous driving technology would be a huge deal for whichever company could do it, we can’t help but wonder if the best way to get there would be to make Tesla cars and technology ubiquitous, as was previously the plan
With more cars on the road, most of which could be using FSD, Tesla should be able to bring in more money and more data for both the medium and long term, but clearly, Musk sees things differently.
Expert Opinion
“Maybe Musk now sees a $25,000 Tesla EV with driving controls as a rival to the company’s future Robotaxi service. A self-driving car with or without controls is meant to provide the same thing – cheap mobility – and it seems that Tesla predicts more earning potential from a service than a product.”
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Tesla Roadster Further Delayed
Still, even if Tesla cracks Level 5 tech – something that does not appear to be happening imminently – there will be several regulatory challenges to face, and these could add years to the public rollout of a robotaxi service. Can Tesla maintain public interest for that long? Perhaps, but people still need to see progress.
Unfortunately, whatever progress there may be on the opposite end of the spectrum, with the Tesla Roadster, will also remain under wraps for the foreseeable future. Once scheduled for production in 2024, Musk said that Tesla is “close” to finalizing the design of the electric supercar without giving any indication of when it’ll be revealed and adding that “it’s really going to be something spectacular.” The second-generation Roadster was announced in 2017, and like the $25k EV, the goalposts kept moving.
Related
All Elon Musk’s Wildest Promises About The Tesla Roadster
Elon Musk has made some pretty wild claims about the new Tesla Roadster’s capabilities over the years. Let’s explore them one by one.
Last we heard, Musk claimed it would have rocket boosters, be able to do 0-60 mph in under a second, have a top speed of 250 mph, and manage 620 miles on a charge. He’s also suggested that it could hover for short periods. This is the same CEO who said the Cybertruck would float, have unbreakable glass, and be bulletproof. Now, he’s hinting that Tesla investor Peter Thiel’s dream of a personal aircraft is possible. “Peter was lamenting how the future doesn’t have flying cars,” said Musk. “Well, we’ll see, more to come. Yeah.”
