Reuters is reporting that Tesla has suspended or cancelled its program to produce a low-cost EV, in favor of developing "robotaxis" instead.
Elon Musk posted on twitter that "Reuters is lying (again)," but didn't provide any specifics. Reuters cited 3 anonymous sources inside Tesla. "Two sources said they learned of Tesla's decision to scrap the Model 2 in a meeting attended by scores of employees, with one of them saying the gathering happened in late February ... The third source confirmed the cancellation and said new plans call for robotaxis to be produced, but in much lower volumes than had been projected for the Model 2." I'm always skeptical when a news source won't or can't identify its sources, so it's probably better to classify this as a rumor for now. My own view, for what it's worth, which isn't much: If this rumor turns out to be accurate, it could mean that Tesla is reducing its focus on sales growth for the sake of per-unit profit growth. That might also explain why Tesla has started raising its prices again. It would put Tesla in the company of several traditional automakers that are abandoning or downplaying affordable vehicles in both EVs and ICEVs, essentially telling potential lower-income customers to get lost. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-scraps-low-cost- car-plans-amid-fierce-chinese-ev-competition-2024-04-05/ or https://v.gd/i172zg David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R Murrow = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
