According to Insideevs, Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted that the company had its hands full with other current projects and would prefer looking for ways to reduce electric car pricing, rather than making a sub-25,000 USD model.
He did not specify when (and if) the rumored Tesla Model 2 might return to the drawing board. He did say that the company was still intending to launch an affordable EV someday – just not in the near future.
Musk believes that polishing autopilot tech until it finds mass use will enable automakers to slash EV prices by a factor of 4 or 5. He claims that affordability of autonomous buses and robotaxis could drive passenger car prices down across the whole industry.
Rumors circulated around mid-2021 that Tesla nearly finished designing a compact hatchback named Model 2. The production was set to begin in China late last year. Apparently, this will no longer be the case. The Model 3 will remain the company’s most wallet-friendly electric car for now.