A more affordable Tesla is coming soon. If we’re to believe what CEO Elon Musk has said at least twice during the last six months.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is on the record saying a more affordable Tesla is due in the first half of this year. That moment is approaching fast. Musk stated at the end of January that Tesla is “still on track to launch a more affordable model in the first half of 2025 and will continue to expand our lineup from there.” That would mean sometime in the next two and a half months. Though Musk did not specify that it was a Model Y, recent reports – including one from Reuters – indicate a Model Y bloodline for at least one of the new affordable Teslas.
The lower-cost “E41” Model Y will be made – at least initially – in the Gigafactory in Shanghai to compete better in the increasingly price sensitive Chinese EV market, according to Reuters. It is designed to cost at least 20% less to produce.
Speculation is rife, varied
Speculation as to what form an affordable Tesla (maybe more than one vehicle) will take varies. In addition to the E41 report, other reports have referred to it as simply a more compact crossover or hatchback with no reference to the Model Y. One analyst said in December that he sees Tesla developing a “baby” Model Y – which could or could not be a reference to E41. “Tesla’s lower-priced crossover is designed to fill the space below the $45,000 Model Y,” said Sam Fiorani, an analyst at AutoForecast Solutions, in December. “Depending on how much cost they can get out of it, the new model could rival the updated Chevrolet Bolt EUV for those entry-level EV buyers,” he said.
Autonomy a given: think robotaxi
In addition to deleting features (think: new RWD Cybertruck) and a reduced size, expect it to be built as a plug-and-play robotaxi out of the gate just like the refreshed “Juniper” Model Y. Musk’s principal passion is autonomy and every new Tesla vehicle will be functionally aligned with Supervised Full Self Driving and eventually Unsupervised FSD, aka robotaxi.
Price
Some estimates put the price below $30,000 with federal EV tax credits (if available). Without credits, it might retail closer to $37,500. That would make it more competitive with budget EVs from rivals like China’s BYD. This would come in the wake of the updated Model Y now being delivered in the U.S. which is priced starting at $48,990 and $41,490 with the EV tax credit.