Antonio Manaytay Tech 10.20.2022 10:Oct AM EDT

Tesla Is Developing Cheaper Next-Gen Electric Car Platform Finally

Tesla will push through with the plan to develop its next-gen electric vehicle platform significantly cheaper than the Model 3/Y platform.

The promised $25,000 electric car, which has gone through off and on the plan phases in previous looks like it would finally see the light this time.

Flip, Flap, And Go

Musk has been talking about the next-gen EV platform for years.

At one time, the Tesla top honcho said the promised EV platform would be rolled out in 2023. The next time he announced, the company pulled off the plan from the shelves.

Musk could have been testing the waters when he publicly seesawed in the plan to develop the new generation EV that is a lot cheaper.

The billionaire even toyed with the idea that Tesla is no longer interested in the next-gen EV platform as they saw a promise in the autonomous car industry. He said the focus was on the Optimus robot and increasing the production of Model Y.

The unpredictable Musk, however, suddenly said the plan would push through. He said the company had shifted its engineering resources to develop the next-gen EV platform to usher in the era of cheap electric cars.

Smaller Tesla Vehicle Platform

Musk surprised the public with the announcement during Tesla's Q3 2022 financial results.

The next-gen EV platform, he said, is on the top priority list of the company's new vehicle development team.

Because the cost is about half of the Model 3 and Y platform, Musk said the vehicle would be smaller in the mold of Tesla's smaller vehicle platform at a price from $25,000 to $35,000.

It is expected that the smaller the vehicle would also give Tesla the room it needed to produce more volume. Musk hinted the number to be produced more than "all of Tesla's other vehicles combined."

Learnings

The CEO has sounded optimistic that the company's past learnings in car making would come into play in developing the next-gen EV platform.

Musk confidently said they could produce the new EV platform for half the costs of what went into the process of producing a Model 3. That means the price of the new one could start from $25,000.

Wait-And-See

The prospect of cheaper electric cars entering the market is good news for a market already burdened by inflation. Musk was promising this.

Electrek has guarded optimism about the possibility of a cheaper EV platform, especially if it comes from Tesla.

The announcement of cheaper cost projections, the source reported, should be taken with "a grain of salt."

Tesla's 3 briefly started to sell at $35,000. And so with the Model S with a starting price of $35,000.

It is a whole new wait-and-see game if Musk's promise of a cheaper EV platform would be materialized.

Also, the certainty of the production of these new EVs is leaving more questions than answers. Although Musk appeared to be excited about the plan, as he always did with every new project Tesla undertook, the public had to consider the flip-flap in the decision-making process before the billionaire finally said it was a go.