When Elon Musk announced the addition of a $25,000 Tesla, we here at DCB HQ thought how’s he going to do that? It was an impossibility back then and now Elon Musk has confirmed that there will never be a so-called affordable Tesla. Tesla doesn’t have the manufacturing grunt to offset the costs of selling a cheaper model offering. And with electric vehicular technology, still relatively in its infancy, costs are too high to sell too low. It was always going to be an impossibility. Indeed, this is a good development because the only way to make an affordable Tesla is to cut costs everywhere and the end experience will be nothing other than Dacia levels of dreadful.
During a recent investor and earnings call, Musk confirmed Tesla was focusing on scaling current production. It could be that Tesla simply does not have the resources to factor in such an offering. Demand is high for the company’s current inventory, which Tesla is struggling to fill. Musk also confirmed no new models releases for 2022 which means the Cybertruck and Roadster will be delayed by another year. Possibly more.
However the tooling process for the Cybertruck has already begun, Musk said he was hopeful that the long-delayed pickup would be retail ready by 2023. However using the benchmark of ‘Elon Time’, we can estimate the Cybertruck will be ready mid-2024.
Musk also revealed that Tesla will be focused on launching the Tesla Bot. Musk believes Optimus will be a groundbreaking humanoid robot with the potential to outstrip the entire Tesla auto business. Musk is known to make bold claims, that don’t fall flat but often take longer than expected to come to fruition. This is known as ‘Elon Time’.