Tesla has made clear its intention to produce affordable electric cars by 2025, refuting a recent report from Reuters that Elon Musk has abandoned his plans to produce a low-cost electric car called Model 2 and instead build robotaxis.
Musk claimed that these reports were false, although subsequent reports from Bloomberg claimed that the development of this particular electric vehicle had been delayed or that its importance within the company had diminished.
Musk did not specify whether the affordable electric vehicle was a new model from the company or a simplified version of its existing vehicles.
“There's a lot of talk about the roadmap for new products,” Musk said during the company's first-quarter earnings call.
Last month, Musk raised investor concerns about delays in plans to introduce low-cost electric cars.
“We have updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the introduction of new models, and we could see cars in early 2025 or even later this year,” Musk said.
The vehicles use next-generation platforms in addition to the existing platforms that power the Model 3 and Model Y.
Musk said: “This does not depend on huge new factories or production lines, but rather on building cars on existing and efficient production lines,” which is expected to accelerate the company’s annual production to more than 3 million cars.
Tesla reported revenue of $21 billion in the first quarter of 2024, down 9% year over year. Net income fell 55% to $1.1 billion.
The company sold fewer cars during the quarter due to lower demand for electric vehicles. Analysts say cheaper models are key to Tesla's future growth.
Musk spoke of concerns that the market is focusing on developing hybrid vehicles rather than electric vehicles, which he said is not the right strategy.
The company reiterated its promise to provide affordable electric cars, but did not confirm whether it would launch new budget models.
The cheapest models will likely only be the lower-spec Model 3 and Y models.