Elon Musk just announced Tesla’s future car platform plans. During Tesla’s Q3 2022 earnings call, Musk stated that the next platform would be smaller and less expensive than the Model 3/Y platform. Musk made his remarks during a Q&A session when Tesla executives were asked about future developments for the next generation of automobiles.
Elon Musk said that, while no specific dates have been set, it is “the primary focus of the new vehicle development team.”
He then discussed costs and manufacturing volumes, stating that the next-generation Tesla vehicle would be built in greater quantities than the Model 3 and Model Y, which accounted for 95 percent of the company’s total deliveries.
Furthermore, the CEO stated that the new model would outsell all previous Tesla vehicles combined.
“The next-generation vehicle will be about half the cost of the 3/Y platform, and it will be smaller. It will, I think, certainly exceed the production of all other vehicles combined.”
The CEO said that building two units of the next-generation Tesla vehicle will cost the same as making a single Model 3 and that “we do believe this can be done.”
While production costs for the smaller model are projected to be half of those of the Model 3/Y, this does not necessarily imply that the car will be priced 50% less than the Model 3, which currently starts at $48,490 in the United States.
Yet, given the cheaper platform, smaller size, and economies of scale, it should be much less expensive than the Model 3.
This isn’t exactly the first time we heard such a promise by Musk, so take it with a grain of salt. Instead, let’s wait and watch, with Tesla’s development team mainly concentrating on a cost-effective platform for next-generation vehicles. But it’s important to remember that a Tesla official recently said the next platform won’t be ready until at least 2024.
