Model 4 could be Tesla’s new affordable car
A more affordable Tesla is on the way, Elon Musk has hinted in a recent conference. This statement of intent comes off the back of the Tesla Model 3 – the company’s first mid-level premium sedan competing against BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C Class. The Model 3 has proven a phenomenal success with 400 000 pre-order deposits along with plans to introduce it to several new markets, including South Africa.
Going by the unofficial designation of Model 4, Elon Musk believes that the economies of scale will allow his team to build cheaper EVs in future. This has always been the company’s ambition but Elon calmly added that more expensive cars were essential for initial growth and investment.
Talk of an affordable Tesla has done the rounds before; at one point the company was focused on building a small SUV called the Model Y. Its purpose was to take on Nissan Juke and Ford EcoSport. The other project was to build a small city car of the same ilk as a Renault Zoe.
“There will be future cars that are even more affordable down the road. With the Model 3 it’s designed such that roughly half of people can afford the car. And then with fourth generation and smaller cars and whatnot we’ll ultimately be in a position where anyone can afford the car.”
Elon continues “If we could have produced an affordable electric car from day one, that’s absolutely what we’d have done. But the only way to success for a small company with limited resources was with a low-volume, high-price car, to a mid-priced, mid-volume car and ultimately to an affordable high-volume car.”
