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Tesla Compact Hatch Coming?

tk1971

Member
Sep 20, 2019
84
77
Pasadena, CA
I would love a compact hot hatch with 350-400 miles of range, AWD and a tight turn radius.

Our Y has a 19.9’ turn radius while our 07 Expedition’s turn radius is 20.4’. Previously, my 07 Yaris hatchback had a 15.4’ turn radius. With a manual transmission, that car was fun.
 
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Saturday

Member
Jul 3, 2020
200
189
Maine
I would love a compact hot hatch with 350-400 miles of range, AWD and a tight turn radius.

Our Y has a 19.9’ turn radius while our 07 Expedition’s turn radius is 20.4’. Previously, my 07 Yaris hatchback had a 15.4’ turn radius. With a manual transmission, that car was fun.

Yeah basically I want an electric Impreza, Tesla style. Don’t need too many luxuries in it. Just give me AP. Keep the suspension firm. Make the car handle amazing and quick as an m3p. 300 mile range is fine.
 
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Brando

Active Member
Sep 27, 2016
2,842
1,984
Bainbridge Island, WA

mycroftxxx

Member
Jun 14, 2020
100
46
Left Coast
Love our MY as the “family” car, but in a couple of years, would love love love a Tesla hot hatch replacement for my GTI, at the $40-45k or less price point. Anybody heard of any EV manufacturer looking to target the hot hatch market?
 

Brando

Active Member
Sep 27, 2016
2,842
1,984
Bainbridge Island, WA
Hopefully this year we will se a concept of a smaller Tesla hatch
May get 2 or 3 concepts - EU (Berlin) and China - maybe Texas?
When they can produce is a different question.

So much catch up to do with Model 3; Model Y as far as orders are concerned.
Also more room to improve production to get near existing capacity of all 4 factorories.
I'll be pleasantly surprised if concepts get done this year. How will competitors react ?

Forgot to mention on going projects of Roadster, SEMI, CyberTruck.

Legacy auto has a lot of demand they could sell to. Can they design/make/get batteries??
 
Last edited:

hgmichna

Member
Jun 17, 2020
240
170
Germany
Look at it from a German or European point of view. Here we don't have the huge distances of the US. About the longest vacation trip, like from Germany to southern Italy, is only about 1,000 km = 621 miles. I just did such a trip, altogether some 2,500 km to, around, and fro, in October with my Model 3 SR+ and didn't think that my battery was too small. Sure, it did take me about an hour longer than in a Diesel car under normal assumptions and maybe a half hour longer than in a long-range Tesla, but that honestly didn't matter.

I doubt that somebody from northern Germany would drive to southern Italy in one day, so that still doesn't require a longer range.

People in the cramped, partly medieval city streets value shorter cars because of parking. They generally make do with smaller cars. Many people cannot afford a Model 3, so a somewhat lower price would enlarge the potential market quite a bit. Add to this that the fixed-size government subsidy for new electric cars has a proportionally bigger effect on lower-priced cars.

If Tesla understood this, and I think they do, they could aim for a smaller, lower-priced hatchback for the best combination of four to five seats, a still large cargo volume with the rear seats folded forward, and easy loading on a flat surface with the rear door up in the air. A range similar to the SR+ could be ideal, but they could also add a long-range version if they wanted to.
 
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MrTuna

Member
May 3, 2020
261
181
South Bend, Indiana
The cheaper your car goes, the more battery costs dominate.

get batteries to ~half of their current price and I am pretty sure a 25k compact car is doable. Maybe make AP hardware optional, or would seem real weird to pay 10k for FSD on a 25k car.
 
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Brando

Active Member
Sep 27, 2016
2,842
1,984
Bainbridge Island, WA
$25,000 car
1 - do people drive these cars far enough to care about FSD?
2 - Tesla has a history of decreasing prices & increasing features - timeline? unknown
3 - scaling/volumes allow for lowering of unit costs - something the MBA types seem to have forgotten.
4 - perceived value ? only the buyer can decide.
 

qdeathstar

Active Member
May 17, 2019
2,002
1,574
VB
all the car really needs is 150 miles of range. And it doesn’t need a zippy motor. So they could out a smaller battery and cheaper motor in the car pretty easily
 

hgmichna

Member
Jun 17, 2020
240
170
Germany
all the car really needs is 150 miles of range.

Such cars exist, but they don't sell well. Example: Honda-e.

There are also small cars with a decent range, like the Renault Zoe with almost 400 km ~ 250 miles. That is the best-selling battery-electric car in Germany, for example. People do look at the range.

Elon Musk has said something similar. He will not produce a car with less than 250 miles of range any time soon.
 

qdeathstar

Active Member
May 17, 2019
2,002
1,574
VB
Such cars exist, but they don't sell well. Example: Honda-e.

There are also small cars with a decent range, like the Renault Zoe with almost 400 km ~ 250 miles. That is the best-selling battery-electric car in Germany, for example. People do look at the range.

Elon Musk has said something similar. He will not produce a car with less than 250 miles of range any time soon.


The Honda E sales for $34000, that’s probably its main problem. To close to Tesla’s price and you get a lot less.
 

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