Tesla is planning to launch a compact crossover for the mass market by 2025, and there’s growing buzz that this might be the company’s most affordable vehicle yet.
A recent Reuters report mentioned that Tesla is informing its suppliers about launching a new vehicle since the Cybertruck. Elon Musk confirmed during a post-earnings call that the company aims to start production of this new electric vehicle at their Texas facility in the latter half of 2025.
The new vehicle, reportedly codenamed “Redwood,” aims for a production rate of 10,000 units per week, according to sources who spoke with Reuters. However, the outlet noted that Tesla has a history of missing deadlines, as seen with the Cybertruck, which was revealed in 2019 but faced several launch delays. Mass production of the Cybertruck isn’t expected until 2025.
There’s speculation that this new vehicle will be priced competitively to challenge Tesla’s rapidly growing Chinese rival, BYD, which became the leading electric vehicle maker globally in the last quarter of 2023. Although Musk has floated a potential price of $25,000 in the past, achieving this may be difficult given that Tesla’s current least expensive model, the Model 3, sells for $38,990. Additionally, the Cybertruck’s initial price ended up being $60,990, which is about $20,000 more than originally anticipated.
Musk has also mentioned in the past that Tesla plans to create a futuristic self-driving taxi, but there’s no clear timeline for its release.
Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings, reported on Wednesday, were $25.2 billion, showing a 3% increase from the same period a year earlier.