Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned throughout the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings name that the corporate will not launch any new fashions this yr, and is not presently growing a $25,000 automotive.
In his opening remarks, he mentioned that the persevering with chip scarcity would make it unattainable to launch new mannequin autos with out leading to fewer whole autos being delivered.
“If we had launched say a brand new automotive final yr, we’d — whole automobile output would have been the identical due to the constraints — the chips’ constraints notably.” He continued, “So, we is not going to be introducing new automobile ranges this yr. It might not make any sense.”
Later, in response to a query a couple of lower-priced Tesla for mainstream shoppers, Musk mentioned that venture will not be presently underway.
“We’re not presently engaged on the $25,000 automotive,” Musk mentioned. ” Sooner or later we are going to. We’ve got sufficient on our plate proper now. An excessive amount of on our plate, frankly.”
Musk has repeatedly instructed a $25,000 Tesla is feasible. He mentioned in 2018 it will take Tesla about three years to develop — although he did not present a timeline for when it would occur. And in 2020, Musk instructed on the firm’s shareholder’s assembly that Tesla would launch such a automotive inside the subsequent three years.
“About 3 years from now, we’re assured we are able to make a really compelling $25,000 electrical automobile that is additionally totally autonomous,” he claimed in 2020. Musk is infamous, nevertheless, for being overly optimistic together with his predictions.
As an alternative of rolling out new fashions, together with the Cybertruck and Semi, in 2022, Tesla will deal with its driverless automobile tech growth, and scaling manufacturing at its present factories this yr, executives mentioned on Wednesday’s earnings name.
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