Tesla’s $25,000 model might come sooner than you think
Once it’s out, there’s no reason to go back to gas.
Game over, auto companies. It’s over. Face it. Tesla won.
I’ve said it before: if GM really wants to invest in electric engineering, they need to stop all production on any gas-powered and diesel vehicles. That might be bad news for investors short-term, but it will line them up for massive success in 7–10 years.
Prior to last year, it was already rumored that Tesla was in the early stages of a new electric hatchback/subcompact vehicle. This would probably be Tesla’s affordable $25,000 car that they announced at last year’s “Battery Day.”
At first glance, a $25,000 price tag doesn’t sound so impressive, especially since you can head to a dealer and buy a Toyota Carolla or Ford Fusion for around $20,000. But the Tesla model will likely be aimed at a different market, not at people going to buy a middle-of-the-road sedan. The Model 3 was priced at $40,000 but was aimed at the luxury mid-sized market that revolves around the BMW 3-series. This new $25,000 Tesla will likely be aimed at the same consumers who would buy a VW Golf, which you can pick up right now for just over $23,000.
New documents show that Tesla China received approval in January for a “new model early launch” project. The report states that Tesla didn’t need to acquire any new land for the project and will instead manufacture the project on land it already owns.
The latest rumors for a $25,000 vehicle release were that it would see a Chinese launch by 2022. So far, it looks like Tesla is on pace for that deadline.
Once Tesla launches a car in an affordable price point — such as $25,000 — it’s game, set, match for the home team. The home team is legacy auto. It’s already a no-brainer to choose a Tesla Model S over the Porsche Taycan, both are around $80,000–100,000. But the Tesla is cheaper and has hundreds of Superchargers to assist with long road trips, the Porsche does not.
Would you rather buy an electric car at $25,000 or a VW Golf with a combustion engine. The “electric is too expensive” argument is no longer valid, they are both the same price. A brand new Tesla automatically defaults at 300 miles of range on a full charge: the same as the average gas-powered car with a 10 gallon tank and 25mpg. Even if you do intend on driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles, there are only two short Supercharger stops you’d need to make.
There’s no reason not to buy an electric car in the year 2021. Once Tesla rolls out this $25,000 car, it’ll be cheaper and more reliable. Game. Set. Match.
