Tesla commits to launching “more affordable models” in 2025
Tesla has once again announced that it is about to launch a range of ‘more affordable models’ by summer 2025.
The news comes after the US EV maker posted its fourth-quarter 2024 results which showed a slump in sales. Last year, Tesla sold 1.79 million cars to 2023’s 1.81m.
The brand’s controversial CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed the commitment to cheaper models on an earnings call with investors.
The upcoming models are believed to use aspects of the current Model 3 and Model Y platforms, as well as the new architecture Tesla revealed in summer 2024. It is expected that the brand’s new cars will be built on the company’s existing Gigafactories across the United States, as well as in Germany and China.
Technical details, however, are thin on the ground and it’s not clear whether the forthcoming cars will be entirely new models or cut-price versions of existing Teslas. Previously, Musk said that “it wouldn’t make much sense” to consider anything other than the Cybercab in the £20-25,000 bracket. The Cybercab is due in 2026.
That suggests the models may sit somewhere between that and the £40,000 Model 3, giving Tesla a more affordable option to fight off competition from Chinese brands such as Xpeng, BYD and Nio.
The confirmation comes after months of back-and-forth confirmations and denials from Musk but also sounds very similar to promises made to deliver more affordable models made at the start of 2024.
Tesla’s year-on-year drop in sales is not the only issue to plague the company in 2025.
Musk’s right-armed gesture at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, along with his association with Reform UK and Germany’s AfD has led to 60% of potential EV owners looking elsewhere for their car.
Tesla is also currently in a legal battle with the European Union after the bloc hit the manufacturer with a 7.8% tariff on its Chinese-made vehicles.