It's no secret that Tesla intends to produce small electric vehicles positioned under the Model 3, and Musk has repeatedly publicly admitted that Tesla is building an electric car that costs less than $25,000 (about 180,000 yuan), and even said that it will start production at the Mexican factory in the second half of 2025. However, recently, Auto Culture learned from overseas sources that earlier in an internal meeting attended by only dozens of people, Tesla decided to give up the Model 2, an affordable electric car, and then they also stopped the supplier's work on the internal code NV91 or external code H422 models, and some internal development team engineers have also been transferred to other positions, all signs indicate that Tesla has given up the plan to build Model 2 affordable electric vehicles.
Although Tesla has not revealed the specific reason for the abortion of Tesla's Model 2 project, it is widely believed that the low-cost advantage of China's new energy vehicles is the biggest reason for its abandonment of the project. After all, in the domestic market, it is still quite difficult to surpass BYD in cost and pricing, as a reference, the guide price range of the direct competitor BYD Dolphin is 99,800-129,800, even if the brand premium is considered, the price of Tesla Model 2 must exceed 150,000 It is difficult for domestic consumers to say "really fragrant".
However, for the news revealed by Reuters, Musk refuted the news on his social platform X, and said that Reuters was lying again, which caused a lot of controversy.
Previously, overseas has repeatedly exposed the relevant information and renderings of the Model 2, from which it can be seen that the Tesla Model 2 basically follows the design language of the Model 3, but is positioned as a hatchback. The different renders differ in detail, but the size and appearance are pretty much the same, with the same fastback design, concealed door handles, and modest mirrors. Visually, the car looks more coordinated than the Model 3, and although it can't be compared to the larger Model 2 in terms of space, it may be more practical and suitable for urban women.
The news about Tesla's Model 2 was exciting a few years ago, but a few years later, the trend in the global new energy market has changed, especially in China. In the U.S. and global markets, the demand for new energy vehicles has been weak, and even the current sales of Tesla's Model 3/Y have been affected, and the performance in the first quarter of 2024 is not as expected, and the launch of the Model 2 with a narrower audience seems to be unnecessary. It can be said that there are ups and downs, prices are explored again and again, and the competition is extremely fierce, and domestic new energy vehicle brands are bound to face a major reshuffle in 2024 or 2025. Even if it is as strong as Tesla, it is difficult to take advantage of consumers when launching the Model 2 at such a time, and Musk is obviously not the kind of person who "loses money and makes money". (Cars have culture, Fei Lian/text)