The decision represents an abandonment of a longstanding goal that Tesla chief Elon Musk has often characterized as its primary mission: affordable electric cars for the masses. His first “master plan”, opens new tab for the company in 2006 called for manufacturing luxury models first, then using the profits to finance a “low cost family car.”
Tesla shares were down about 3% in early afternoon trading after the Reuters report.
Musk has since repeatedly promised such a vehicle to investors and consumers. As recently as January, Musk told investors that Tesla planned to start production of the affordable model at its Texas factory in the second half of 2025, following an exclusive Reuters report detailing those plans.
The Nissan Leaf is pretty decent. Grab a used one and it’s quite cheap.
I just checked and even new, base model ones are right around the price point I said. I’ll keep an eye on Nissan. I have heard good things about Kia/Hyundai EVs too but I haven’t done much research. I’m hoping to not need a new vehicle for a long while, so I’m not particularly motivated to dig deep yet.