Tesla (TSLA) execs on the company’s first quarter earnings call earlier this week dropped some heavy hints as to what the EV maker’s cheaper upcoming vehicles could look like. The bottom line: Those EVs are going to look very familiar.
Tesla said the launch of its new vehicles, including more affordable ones, was on track for the first half of 2025, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja later saying that production will start in June. Tesla and its management team believe the launch of the cheaper EV will make a difference in the company’s sales performance. That follows CEO Elon Musk’s mantra that customers are only constrained by cost, and if the price is right, sales will follow.
Tesla execs on the call did not deny a prior Reuters report that the first cheaper EV would resemble an existing Model Y SUV, saying only that the company was focusing on affordability and that these efforts would resemble some of the existing Tesla models.
One of the biggest reasons why the cheaper Tesla EV will look familiar is that Tesla will use its current manufacturing footprint and assembly lines, as opposed to the next-generation “unboxed” manufacturing process the company will use for the Cybercab in 2026.
“The real thing which we are trying to focus on is affordability, and using our existing [production] lines, there’s always limitations as to how many different form factors you can bring,” Taneja said on the earnings call. “So that’s the way you should think about it.”
Some Tesla commentators had predicted the newer vehicles would resemble the Cybercab in some fashion, meaning a mix of Tesla’s old and new design language.
Lars Moravy, Tesla VP of vehicle engineering, added a bit more context.
“With the recent upgrades to the Model 3 and Model Y platforms, we’ve made some pretty great cars at pretty great prices, and we’ve added a bunch of features … Models that come out in the next months will resemble in form and shape the cars that we currently make, and the key is that they will be affordable and that you’ll be able to buy one,” Moravy added.
That’s good enough for Wall Street, apparently.
“Tesla confirmed that a more affordable vehicle is currently in the making and the unveil is on track for start of production in 1H25. It appears from company management that this affordable vehicle will be largely based on stripped down version of the Model Y and Model 3,” Bank of America’s John Murphy said in a note to clients.
Whether a new, cheaper model will move the needle for Tesla’s sales, which were decidedly weak in Q1, is up for debate. The bigger question: How fast can Tesla get these vehicles into showrooms?
