In June 2021, Tesla debuted the Model S Plaid, the quickest series-production sedan (0-60 mph). above the next five years, it will emphasise low-end pricing above acceleration and performance. Tesla said during its 2020 Annual Shareholder Meeting and Battery Day that it will launch a USD 25,000 (EUR 23,261) electric car this decade to democratise electric cars.
Discussing Tesla’s mass-market car idea. This article covers unofficial miniature Tesla renders by automotive designers and sleuths. Technology—particularly battery chemistry—is also speculative.
At Tesla’s 2021 annual shareholder meeting, co-founder and CEO Elon Musk indicated the business won’t call its USD 25,000 electric automobile the Model 2. He said:
The B20 Summit Indonesia’s second day questioned the cheap Tesla model’s moniker. Musk attended the event online and was asked if Tesla should name its entry-level car “Model I” for Indonesia and India, where affordable EVs may become widespread in a few years. Musk claimed Tesla should create a cheaper car, but he dodged the question.
The car below the Model 3 was called “Tesla Model C” in 2018. We’ll call the USD 25,000 Tesla automobile the car 2 or Model Q until it’s named for clarity and search engine discoverability.
Model 2?
Ray4Tesla expected trial production of the Tesla Model 2 prototype to commence by the end of 2021.
Model 2-crossover
Chinese portals published a supposed spy shot of a USD 25,000 Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai on January 4, 2023. The camouflaged hatchback resembled a shortened, lowered, and narrowed Tesla Model Y with a shorter wheelbase.
In January 2020, Tesla tweeted for Chinese designer portfolios. Tesla image
Tesla posted the following concept sketch on Chinese social media after the Made-in-China Tesla Model 3 launch in January 2020. Musk also announced a Chinese design and engineering centre to design a worldwide car. Tesla requested portfolios. Chinese Gigafactory employment boomed.
Official teaser
On February 22, 2023, Tesla presumably previewed the Model 2 in a video during the Tesla Global Engineering Centre inauguration in Palo Alto, California. At 11:26, a covered car that resembles a downsized Tesla Model Y arrives, as indicated in the “Crossover-style Tesla Model 2” section.
Model 2 sketches follow. One shows a tiny EV like the “Crossover-style Tesla Model 2” sketch above.
Musk indicated a Tesla tiny car at the 2023 Annual Shareholder Meeting on May 16. The Tesla CEO showed the Model Y-like side profile of the EV again. “We are actually designing a new product,” Musk stated, showing this illustration. “I think you will be very excited about two new products and both the design and the manufacturing techniques are head and shoulders above anything else in industry,” he said.
Chinese R&D
Tesla envisions R&D and production in China. Musk declared at the September 26 World Internet Conference 2021 opening ceremony that the company would increase investments and R&D in the country.
After opening the Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai in 2019, it erected the R&D and Innovation Centre and Super Factory Data Centre in 2021. On October 25, 2021, the company finished its global R&D and local data centres. The Chinese R&D centre may create Tesla automobile software, hardware, electronics, materials, and more. Manufacturing data will be stored in the Chinese data centre.
The $25,000 Tesla’s first overseas R&D centre may affect design and testing. In February 2021, Tesla China President Tom Zhu told Xinhua Net (via YouTube/T-Study) that the plant could design, engineer, develop, and test automobiles.
Zhu claimed Tesla had announced the Tesla China R&D center’s purpose. He predicted global Teslas from China.
Sugarchow’s Tesla Model 2. The USD 25000 Tesla hatchback rivals the VW ID.3 and Nissan Leaf. The cheapest Tesla targets Europeans, but China has the biggest potential.
Supermini Model 2
Model 2 crossover-SUV? Twitter picture.
Model 2 city car
Musk calls the Tesla Robotaxi an independent vehicle. André Domingues.
Features
Autonomous driving
The cheaper Tesla Model 2 may have Tesla Autopilot, the full self-driving equipment. Musk indicated during 2020 Battery Day that Tesla might create a fully autonomous USD 25,000 model in three years, but that has changed.
Excellent infotainment
Young customers can’t afford Teslas will buy the little car. Techies deserve Tesla’s best. Thus, the Model 2’s infotainment system may offer several connectivity and entertainment possibilities. December 2022 brought Cyberpunk 2027 and thousands of other games to the Model S and X. EVs got Apple Music that month.
Platform
On October 19, 2022, Musk teased the entry-level Tesla. He said the company’s next EV platform would cost half the Model 3 and Model Y’s. S, X, 3, Y, Cybertruck, and Semi platforms will influence the new platform.
Manufacturing
36 Krypton reported on April 4, 2023, that Tesla will build 4 million entry-level vehicles annually. That’s ambitious. 2022 Tesla sold 1.3 million automobiles. The Chinese newspaper dubbed the next EV a “small Model Y” based on its sources. As with earlier speculations concerning the USD 25,000 Tesla, we encourage scepticism about manufacturing volume.
Musk noted in Tesla’s Q3 2022 earnings call that the targeted sales volume exceeds all its other vehicles. He discussed the model’s estimated production:
Tesla’s high quality standards make meeting its USD 25,000 goal price difficult. However, LFP chemistry reduces battery costs. CFO Zachary Kirkhorn said:
Kirkhorn recommended Tesla to produce cars in big volumes at four factories worldwide to meet manufacturing cost targets:
Mexico
Mexico’s Santa Catarina (Nuevo León) Gigafactory will make USD 25,000 Teslas. North American demand may dominate Giga Mexico. Asia may get the car from Gigafactory Shanghai.
On July 7, 2023, Santa Catarina Governor Samuel García told Milenio that Tesla is advancing with approvals from numerous Mexican ministries for the new facility and may lay the first stone anytime. García said the Tesla EV’s design is nearly finished.
García told Milenio (via YouTube) that Mexico’s Tesla Gigafactory will be the world’s largest factory. A new production line for Tesla’s affordable model at the new site may take 12-15 months.
Germany/Spain
European automobiles were expected from Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. A new Spanish factory could ship the cheapest Tesla. Spain makes minicars cheaper than Germany. Volkswagen Group will construct all Spain-segment EVs.
Levante-EMV stated on June 8, 2023, that Tesla is in talks with Valencia authorities to build a USD 4.5 billion Gigafactory. Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo is building an EV cell gigafactory nearby. CincoDías announced it minutes afterwards.
China
A 2020 Chinese Environmental Impact Assessment investigated expanding Shanghai facility manufacturing capacity for “Model 3, Model Y, and related derivative models.”
President Zhu said Tesla can achieve 100% localisation in China in the interview. 100% localisation allows aggressive Model 2 price.
India
India, a fast-growing electric vehicle market, lacks Tesla. Despite India’s growing EV acceptability, import charges have prevented Tesla from entering. Most Indian buyers couldn’t afford Teslas like the Model 3, making local production unprofitable.
The entry-level Tesla may be expensive if India becomes wealthier and spends more on lifestyle products. Tesla plans to launch and construct this model in India for INR 20 lakh, or USD 24,000.
Tesla will export most of its 500,000 EVs to Indo-Pacific countries because India doesn’t need that many.
Model 2 battery/motor
New car
Tesla intends to reduce rare earth materials in car parts and enhance economy. Tesla’s redesigned drive unit used 75% less Silicon Carbide without sacrificing performance or economy on March 1, 2023. The company indicated the USD 25,000 model will use this propulsion unit. This car has a controller. 48-volt lithium-ion supplemental batteries use less electricity and thinner connections.
LFP battery
The Model 2 may use a long-cycle iron-based battery. Tesla’s transition from Nickel to Iron for its future entry-level automobiles signals cost-cutting. Iron would reduce Tesla’s supply constraints. Musk requested more material from mining businesses.
The entry-level Tesla would employ the LFP battery. Commercial applications need lengthy cycle life. Tesla may have insights on this chemistry from launching the Model 3 with LFP.
Model-2 range
The US$25,000 Tesla will compete the VW Golf and Nissan Leaf. China and Europe may buy the entry-level Tesla. Instagram/Theottle render
On April 5, 2023, Tesla revealed its tiny car’s 53 kWh LFP battery pack in Master Plan Part 3 (pdf). The company sees this EV as a standard-range city car with a lower energy density chemistry. Mid-size EVs (Model 3 and Model Y) use LFPs with 75 kWh energy storage.
The Tesla tiny EV’s 53 kWh LFP battery pack should give it an EPA-estimated 250-mile range, enough for a cheap and reliable daily driver. 468 km (NEDC/China) was the Model 3’s CATL 55 kWh LFP battery pack’s range.
Renault 5, a Tesla Model 2 competitor, will have a 400-kilometer WLTP range when it launches in early 2024. VW Group and Stellantis’ upcoming European compact EVs are priced and ranged similarly. To compete, the Tesla Model 2 needs at least 250 miles of range and a base price of EUR 25,000. An AWD performance version may top the range, but most versions feature a rear-wheel motor.
C-segment hatchback 2.
China sells Model 3 LFPs. These observations informed the Model 2 LFP pack. ArtStation PSArtcar.
Model 2 Release
Tesla may introduce the Model 2 in 2023. It may launch around 2025. Tesla intends to sell 42 million compact EVs, quadruple current Model 3 and Model Y sales. For a company that sells little over a million units of all its models, that seems ambitious for one vehicle.
Tesla resumed Model 2 work after a brief vacation to focus on its priority vehicles. Months after Musk halted development, The Detroit Bureau announced that the Model 2 entry-level EV was again in development on November 3, 2022. The project’s completion date isn’t mentioned. Tesla should unveil the future car on March 1, 2023.
Business Insider reported that Tesla Head of Investor Relations Martin Viecha discussed the USD 25,000 Tesla during a Goldman Sachs presentation on September 12, 2022. He promised a cheaper Tesla. Robotaxi requires a cheaper car before launching. Launch date unclear.
Loup Ventures On December 29, 2022, Tesla stock analysts expected the Model 2 would launch in early 2024. The Minneapolis-New York research-driven venture finance firm anticipates Tesla to start mass producing the next EV in mid-2025. The business also mentioned economic issues such an industry recession and Model 3 sales cannibalization if Tesla launches the cheaper Model 2 sooner.
Musk said Tesla had too many projects at the Q4 2021 and full-year 2021 earnings call.
Tesla Model 2 delay affects investors and analysts.
Tesla’s Q4 2021 and full-year 2021 earnings conference call revealed Musk’s USD 25,000 model is not under development. Dissatisfied investors and analysts. Toni Sacconaghi of AB Bernstein believes the company can sell over 3 million vehicles in 2024 without making the USD 25,000 EV. Guggenheim analyst Ali Faghri told Yahoo Finance that entering the lower price, volume regions “will be critical to support the company’s growth outlook” by mid-decade.
Tesla’s competitors are exploring inexpensive electric cars. Business Insider says Lucid Motors is considering a low-cost, low-range automobile.
Peter Rawlinson, Lucid Motor’s CTO and CEO, said “maybe 150 miles is alright” if buyers don’t require a big range, can charge at home and have enough of fast-chargers. He wants a 6 miles/kWh EV too. Energy efficiency gives a 50 kWh battery pack 300 miles!
VW reveals two sub-25k Euro EVs.
On March 15, 2023, Volkswagen unveiled a sub-25,000 euro (USD 26,866) entry-level EV. The VW ID. 2all concept previewed VW’s 2025 European dealer-bound electric car.
The MEB Entry-based electric hatchback should have VW’s latest design language, current features, and a WLTP range of 450 kilometres (280 miles). Volkswagen is planning a sub-20,000 euro (USD 21,493) electric car that would compete with Tesla’s speculated entry-level EV if it comes to the US.
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