It never rains but it pours at Tesla. After delaying the Cybertruck’s launch several times and postponing the Roadster’s debut, and then coming out with a controversial ‘two-door’ driverless Robotaxi, now the company’s CEO Elon Musk has just announced that plans for the much-anticipated Tesla Model 2 have been shelved as the company shifts its focus to autonomous vehicles and the planned Robotaxi.
“I think we’ve made it very clear that the future is autonomous,” Musk stated on the Tesla Q3 earnings call. “I believe it is useless to have a standard $25k model. It would be absurd. It would be totally contrary to our beliefs.
It was expected that the speculatively named “Model 2” will be a more compact, pared-down version of the brand’s current models. At its annual shareholder meeting last year, Tesla even unveiled a teaser image of the Model 2, revealing the future vehicle’s curved roofline that followed the well-known design language of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Tesla is without doubt the springboard for the EV movement not only in the US, but around world and as such has gained much kudos for its cars and its controversial boss Musk. Now after initially pushing a bargain basement priced compact Model 2, Musk has now decided to pull the plug on it. Whether that’s the right move, only time will tell.
Nonetheless, by default if you will, the Robotaxi will now assume the role of Tesla’s reasonably priced little car. Although Musk’s plans are always open to change, it should come around the same time as the highly anticipated Model 2. The Robotaxi will cost about $30,000, which is about the same as the now-defunct Model 2.
In the interim, Tesla will keep updating its current lineup of cars. The facelifted Model Y “Juniper” SUV is scheduled for release next year. If it follows the newly updated Model 3, its base price may be lowered to about $42,000.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Tesla is without doubt the springboard for the EV movement not only in the US, but around world and as such has gained much kudos for its cars and its controversial boss Musk. Now after initially pushing a bargain basement priced compact Model 2, Musk has now decided to pull the plug on it. Whether that’s the right move, only time will tell.