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.
There’s all of the other automakers that are dipping their toes into the electric market.
Oh wait, they are all leaning hard into SUVs. Nevermind.
How else would they be able to keep shaming poor people and telling them climate change is their fault?
It’s dooming the majority of US car buyers to a used market where they will struggle to find an affordable EV whose battery isn’t toast when there is a comparable ICE vehicle for just a little less than the EV.
Cue shifting the blame to poor people and increasing gas taxes on consumer vehicles.
Didn’t something similar go down in France?
That’s what happens when the major incentive from subsidies and tax breaks is focused on SUV production. We need more regulation on safety and functionality as well as deeper incentives to cover the range of market needs instead of a single weight class.