ALBAWABA - Reuters reports that Elon Musk has shelved the company's low-cost electric vehicle plans to focus on robotaxis. Three knowledgeable individuals said that staff learned of the decision at a general meeting at the end of February.
Musk has promised a $25,000 electric vehicle for years to boost electric car sales. When interviewed by YouTuber Marques Brownlee in 2018, he said, "A $25,000 car, that's something we can do." Musk predicted that Tesla could build over 20 million of these vehicles per year, twice Toyota, GM, and Volkswagen's production, at the company's first Battery Day event in 2020.
Musk stated that the cheaper EV would use the company's next-generation car chassis. In an earnings call earlier this year, Musk said the business hoped to start manufacturing "towards the end of 2025" but warned of delays owing to production complexity.
He remarked, "Obviously, if commercial barriers are not created, they will almost certainly destroy most of the other car companies in the world." "They're extremely good."
Reuters reported earlier this year that Tesla would begin manufacture of a new electric crossover by mid-2025. The company sought bids from vendors to build 10,000 automobiles per week. The $25,000 mass-market Tesla car Tesla has long promised may have borrowed design features from the Cybertruck.
In his book last year, writer Walter Isaacson said Musk suggested the Axiom Car would be a Cybertruck-style car coupled with an autonomous robotaxi. At a March investor presentation, the business previewed a smaller car and a tiny commercial truck.
Musk said in Isaacson's book that a completely autonomous vehicle would make the inexpensive EV obsolete, maybe replacing it with a robotaxi.
