Tesla abandons production – Vesti online

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that he has abandoned plans to produce a $25,000 electric car that is not intended for autonomous driving.

Musk told an investor conference that designing an electric vehicle at that price point would be “pointless” unless the car is fully autonomous, stressing that he is not making a “regular” car, Reuters reports.

The British agency reminds that in April it announced that the Tesla company had given up the production of the mentioned car, but that Musk denied it by saying that “Reuters is lying”. After the announcement of the news, Tesla shares fell sharply, but partially recovered after his denial.

Tesla plans to start production of fully autonomous versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in Texas and California as early as next year, followed by the two-seater Cybercab, but faces serious technological and regulatory challenges in fulfilling these promises.

Meanwhile, the company scaled back ambitions to produce 20 million vehicles a year by 2030, which was part of earlier sustainability targets. Analysts believe that Tesla now plans to produce vehicles on existing platforms, at a price of around $30,000.

It represents a change in strategy as Chinese EV makers have already entered the affordable car segment, prompting Tesla to adjust its plans.