Tesla's New Cheap Car Is Just A Stripped Down Model Y

During its second-quarter 2025 net call, Tesla formally declared that, yes, astatine agelong last, it would beryllium making a cheaper car. As nan accomplished salesman he is, CEO Elon Musk really went each retired to hype up nan caller vehicle, pulling retired each instrumentality successful nan book to delight some your intellect and your senses: "It's conscionable a Model Y," he said. Well, pinch a transportation for illustration that, motion maine up!

Production of nan cheaper Model Y really began successful June, though afloat capacity won't ramp up until later successful nan year. It ought to spell connected waste successful Q4, according to Tesla, and you cognize that erstwhile Tesla gives you a date, you tin return that to nan bank. No connection connected what nan caller Model Y will (or, rather, won't) feature.

The news isn't precisely surprising. Word came past twelvemonth that nan alleged "Model 2," a brand-new inexpensive EV from Tesla, had been canceled earlier ever being announced. But Tesla surely needs thing to get its flagging gross backmost up, arsenic its woeful Q2 study makes clear. Musk promises (promises!) this will travel successful nan shape of robotaxis, contempt nan truth that that business exemplary isn't expected to move a profit for years to come. Just successful lawsuit robot cars don't instantly bring rate successful nan door, Tesla has to person a backup action to assistance it retired of its hole. The cheaper type of nan company's bestseller is it.

So, what tin Tesla really do to bring nan value down? There's really a precedent for this: Last year, Tesla unveiled a decontented Model 3 for waste successful Mexico. This trim swapped retired nan leather upholstery for cloth, reduced nan interior ambient lights to achromatic only, and ditched nan rear-facing surface and heated seats. Plausibly, it could do nan aforesaid to nan Model Y.

Right now, a guidelines Model Y goes for $44,990, earlier taxes and (expiring) taxation credits. Mexico's bottommost trim Model 3 sells for astir 9% little than nan adjacent higher one, truthful applying that mathematics present would consequence successful a compact SUV astatine astir $41,000, springiness aliases take. Might Tesla spell further? To do that, it would really request to slash nan artillery down, which would beryllium a beautiful awesome move. That, aliases return nan brakes out.