Did Elon Musk revive hopes for a $25,000 Tesla? Maybe

CEO Elon Musk has gone back and forth on the creation of a $25,000 Tesla, seemingly putting an end to those plans earlier this year. However, his statements about a new car platform from the company’s last earnings call have aroused fresh suspicion that plans for a more affordable Tesla could already be underway. 

Tesla is working on a new vehicle platform that could cost Tesla around half as much to build as its other vehicles, according to a statement from Musk during Tesla’s Q3 earnings call reported by Automotive News Europe. The news has many wondering if this could eventually become the previously rumored $25,000 car to which Tesla has referred in the past.

"We don't know the exact dates, but this is the primary focus of our new vehicle development team," Musk said on the earnings call.

The base-level trim of Tesla’s Model 3 starts at $48,440 before shipping, nearly double the $25,000 target price. The automaker’s other vehicles are built on the same platform as the Model 3, though they come with more expensive price tags out the door.

Many have taken Musk’s statements as plans to revive the $25,000 car idea, which he last detailed in September 2020. At the time, Musk predicted the affordable electric vehicle would need about three years to design and produce.

Now, over two years later, there’s still no sign of a $25,000 car and the automaker is busy preparing to launch the Semi next month, with the Cybertruck launching throughout next year. In January, however, Musk stated that the automaker wasn’t focused on the inexpensive Tesla model, emphasizing the other projects it currently has its hands full with.

"We are not currently working on a $25,000 car," Musk said during last year’s Q4 earnings call. "At some point we will. But we have enough on our plate right now — too much on our plate, frankly."

Whether the automaker’s new vehicle platform will become the previously predicted inexpensive EV or not remains to be seen. However, a new vehicle platform at half the cost could certainly pave the way for Tesla to build an economy-level vehicle in the years to come.

Additionally, Musk has touted a future of robotaxis as the most inexpensive option and as a better option for the future than personal car ownership. It seems likely, then, that the upcoming car platform could be focused on delivering a robotaxi to the market — even if it isn’t actively working on an inexpensive Tesla for consumers.

In either case, a new vehicle platform for Tesla is positive news and, being the “primary focus” of the automaker’s vehicle development team, the project is likely to catch the public eye soon enough.

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