Elon Musk Says Teslas Are Too Expensive, Hints At New Compact Electric Car

[TMC Staff]

This new cheaper and smaller Tesla hatchback could be designed in Germany and possibly even be built at the new Gigafactory. Speaking during an earnings call last week, Elon Musk expressed his point that the cars that Tesla is currently building are still too expensive. Even with the introduction of the Model 3, which in...
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[artx55]

I mean, that's a given. For more entry level consumers, the 3 is too expensive. It is in the mid-luxury level such as some models of BMW, Audi, etc.

They need a car in the $25k range to really start reaching the masses.

 

[needp3d-]

I mean, that's a given. For more entry level consumers, the 3 is too expensive. It is in the mid-luxury level such as some models of BMW, Audi, etc.

They need a car in the $25k range to really start reaching the masses.

I read a news early today. They will bring the Chinese build model 3 down below 200,000 Yuan. That's below 30,000 USD. I am not sure after seeing this news.

 

[jboy210]

Maybe an iD3 competitor that has software that works.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

That will make Fremont the plant that produces the worst quality cars. China's Model 3s have already been confirmed to have far better build quality than their California made counterparts. Too bad we can't specify which factory we want to build our cars.

Anything built in Germany will be made by people with a much higher work ethic and sense of pride. Are they still building out of tents in Fremont? *rotfl*

 

[XLR82XS]

That will make Fremont the plant that produces the worst quality cars. China's Model 3s have already been confirmed to have far better build quality than their California made counterparts. Too bad we can't specify which factory we want to build our cars.

Anything built in Germany will be made by people with a much higher work ethic and sense of pride. Are they still building out of tents in Fremont? *rotfl*

+2

 

[MasterchiefTS]

Mmmm I'm not agree with Musk in this situation. I think that the base price of Model 3 is correct in some European country, not in Italy for example. The 49K is high like price but with the incentives, you can buy at 39K EURO. Well, I think that Tesla must works on price of Model 3, I don't want an ID3 by Tesla. Tesla is the high company car for Technology. The price is correct for his cars.

 

[artx55]

Mmmm I'm not agree with Musk in this situation. I think that the base price of Model 3 is correct in some European country, not in Italy for example. The 49K is high like price but with the incentives, you can buy at 39K EURO. Well, I think that Tesla must works on price of Model 3, I don't want an ID3 by Tesla. Tesla is the high company car for Technology. The price is correct for his cars.

And that's cool and everything. But the reality is, it comes down to want the market wants. Just because I like sporty, luxury sedans like the S, does not mean that they should solely focus on building those types of cars. There is obviously a balance that needs to be struck for now, because Tesla doesn't nearly have the capacity to warrant the output and -true- support of its existing models. But once they overcome these hurdles, they certainly -should- go after the affordable segment.

To most people, 39K is still a premium that is out of reach. You are likely to find that the majority of automobile consumers are in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.

 

[MasterchiefTS]

I think that the country MUST helps the consumers for buy the cars.

 

[artx55]

I think that the country MUST helps the consumers for buy the cars.

I agree. If we're truly to see climate change addressed, governments must support green infrastructure and transportation. I personally missed out on the EV rebate window in my country for the Model S, which is unfortunate. But governments needs to incentivize both private industry and consumers to make the switch.

I also think government needs to take a stand for unified autonomous driving infrastructure. Cars with radar, lidar, cameras are great and everything but to solve congestion issues and accidents, especially in regions with varying climates (e.g. snow), we need infrastructure to provide assistive information to autonomous vehicles.

 

[bnsfengineer]

That will make Fremont the plant that produces the worst quality cars. China's Model 3s have already been confirmed to have far better build quality than their California made counterparts. Too bad we can't specify which factory we want to build our cars.

Anything built in Germany will be made by people with a much higher work ethic and sense of pride. Are they still building out of tents in Fremont? *rotfl*

Boy you hit the nail on the head! That was always my response to folks who asked why I didn't buy American cars until I purchased a Tesla. The real question is why can't we do it here? Are we just down right lazy and not have the same work ethic? What will it take?

 

[Tundrok]

It's kinda funny that he says they are too expensive yet it was him that claimed time and time again that he'd be hitting a much lower price point by now. He didn't just casually claim it, he has been extremely confident in it yet Tesla has yet to achieve the price points. I guess the solution now is to just further scale back on the claim by introducing a smaller size?

 

[ThomasD]

Tesla could lower the price of the most basic Model Y and compete with the Rav 4. The Rav 4 LE starts at 26,000 dollars Tesla could get the Y down to 30,000 dollars. With Battery costs lower and the MY using some M3 parts they could build the car at a lower cost

 

[ThomasD]

Elon Musk
@elonmusk
·
Apr 13, 2019

Model 3 drive unit & body is designed like a commercial truck for a million mile life. Current battery modules should last 300k to 500k miles (1500 cycles). Replacing modules (not pack) will only cost $5k to $7k.

 

[strider]

Boy you hit the nail on the head! That was always my response to folks who asked why I didn't buy American cars until I purchased a Tesla. The real question is why can't we do it here? Are we just down right lazy and not have the same work ethic? What will it take?

My 2001 Jeep TJ was flawless. My 2006 Corvette was flawless. I would put any current model Cadillac against any current model Japanese or German car in the same price category. BMW SUVs for the German market are made in the US. The Japanese make SUVs and trucks here.

Your questions need to be for Elon to answer. It has nothing to do w/ how Americans build things. Defect rates on S and X have always been low in my experience. But Tesla spent ages getting the production line just right. Elon was there all the time, fussing over the this and that. We were all on here wailing and gnashing our teeth at the delays but the cars were excellent.

I think Tesla rushed the 3 and Y out the door without sufficient testing and fine tuning of the production line. That was a mgmt decision, not a reflection of the workers.

 

[cybertrucker]

That will make Fremont the plant that produces the worst quality cars. China's Model 3s have already been confirmed to have far better build quality than their California made counterparts. Too bad we can't specify which factory we want to build our cars.

Anything built in Germany will be made by people with a much higher work ethic and sense of pride. Are they still building out of tents in Fremont? *rotfl*

do you have any facts to back up your claims?

 

[Booga]

Elon Musk
@elonmusk
·
Apr 13, 2019

Model 3 drive unit & body is designed like a commercial truck for a million mile life. Current battery modules should last 300k to 500k miles (1500 cycles). Replacing modules (not pack) will only cost $5k to $7k.

Have they ever provided full pricing on module replacement for high mileage model 3s? It's not yet offered as a service, is it?

 

[themorey]

Another thing to consider is that Giga Shanghai is a newly built factory by Tesla based on lessons learned at Fremont. Once Giga TX is online I think you'll see much better quality than Fremont because of the purpose built factory. At some point after TX comes online I think you'll see Fremont factory upgraded or maybe even replaced.

 

[zecar]

It's kinda funny that he says they are too expensive yet it was him that claimed time and time again that he'd be hitting a much lower price point by now. He didn't just casually claim it, he has been extremely confident in it yet Tesla has yet to achieve the price points. I guess the solution now is to just further scale back on the claim by introducing a smaller size?

Tesla/Musk could not have been confident that $50K EVs could sell in the volume that Tesla is currently experiencing. Now he is not confident that Tesla can sell in the millions at current price points. He is probably right. There needs to be a model 2 starting at $25K. It need to be not an econobox cube like the Bolt. I'm sure Tesla is exploring a number of fairly freaky designs for the model 2.

The best strategy is probably to not drive the 3/Y price downward. As battery cost decline its probably best to add features to these cars to maintain the luxury price points. Its best to introduce models below the 3/Y.

I assume the current Honda Civic is a nicer car than the original Honda Accord.

 

[vickh]

Today's batt. day article:
Elon Musk promises $25,000 Tesla and says Model S 'Plaid' is coming soon - CNN

That would be much cheaper than any car Tesla has made so far. Musk has a history of sometimes under-delivering on promises, or even not delivering at all. Years ago, Tesla promised a $35,000 electric car, the Tesla Model 3, but even then the Model 3 was only available at that price for a short time.


some BS since I bought the 35K (-4K tax credit) and it's still avail off menu...