On October 10, Tesla (TSLA) held its “We, Robotic” occasion on the Warner Brothers backlot on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California; the occasion was rescheduled from an earlier date in August.
Throughout the occasion, its CEO, Elon Musk, revealed the long-awaited Robotaxi, a trendy autonomous car geared up with butterfly doorways however with out pedals or a steering wheel. The design raised questions with some retail buyers.
Within the weeks earlier than Tesla’s third-quarter earnings have been launched, retail buyers have been invited to take part in an nameless Q&A discussion board, the place the highest questions have been about Tesla’s mysterious “inexpensive mannequin” that Musk had teased for years.
“Is Tesla nonetheless on observe to ship the extra inexpensive mannequin subsequent yr, as talked about by Elon earlier, and the way does it align together with your AI and product roadmap?” the top-voted query, representing 2.3 million whole shares learn.
“When can we count on Tesla to offer us the ~$25K, non-robotaxi, common automobile mannequin?” the second highest-voted query mentioned.
However whereas Musk might have addressed these questions in the course of the earnings name, new developments have sparked extra curiosity round Tesla’s hotly anticipated EV.
Tesla’s “Mannequin Q”
On December 9, a notice from analysts at Deutsche Financial institution mentioned that it met with Travis Axelrod, the automaker’s Head Of Investor Relations at its Autonomous Driving Day in New York Metropolis, the place it famous that the storied EV agency will launch a car it dubs the “Mannequin Q;” a extra inexpensive Tesla mannequin.
“The brand new Tesla mannequin (we seek advice from as “Mannequin Q”) ought to launch in 1H25 and will likely be priced <$30k together with subsidies (i.e., $37,499 if US EV tax credit score goes away)," Deutsche Financial institution analyst Edison Yu mentioned in his notice.
Moreover, the DB analyst famous that the brand new mannequin may very well be joined with a long-wheelbase, three-row Mannequin Y solely for China. You reported that the fashions can be constructed on present manufacturing strains and that Tesla execs anticipate them to contribute to growing quantity by 20-30% in 2025.
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The announcement triggers skepticism by netizens, TSLA critics
Information concerning Deutsche Financial institution’s report garnered consideration from observers, because it constructed upon earlier remarks from Elon Musk in the course of the 3Q 2024 earnings name on October 23. On that decision, he confirmed the existence of “inexpensive fashions” down the pipeline that may contribute to “20% to 30%” car gross sales progress.
“It is going to be like with incentive. So, 30K, which is sort of a key threshold,” Musk mentioned in the course of the name.
However as Musk addressed the price range Tesla mannequin, the message abruptly modified when he was requested a few “~$25K, non-robotaxi, common automobile mannequin,” seeming to take the comparable however otherwise worded query as one asking if Tesla would make a “standard” model for $25,000.
“Having an everyday, 25K mannequin is pointless. It would be foolish. It’s going to be fully at odds with what we imagine.” Musk mentioned.
“It is not going to be nearly as good as a devoted autonomous automobile. […] Cybercab is simply not going to have steering wheels and pedals. It is solely designed to optimize for autonomy.”
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Nevertheless, in relation to the DB report, onlookers are coloured skeptical, as it’s an uncommon strategy to announce a brand new mannequin.
“I give little or no credibility to this report. It will be extraordinarily stunning for Tesla’s IR head to disclose this data to a financial institution,” Electrek author Fred Lambert wrote in his report.
Within the feedback part of a publish concerning the DB report on the r/RealTesla subreddit, totally different Reddit customers expressed doubts concerning the report’s validity.
“Rumors to assist prop the inventory till Musk can grift the feds? Colour me shocked,” consumer u/oregon_coastal mentioned.
“[The “Model Q”] will not exist,” Reddit consumer 22pabloesco22 added. “This isn’t about how horrible the product is perhaps, that is about throwing shit out to pump inventory.”
“If folks have not figured it out by now, Musk is the top con artist on this pump and dump operation, however tons of individuals on wallstreet, the media, all of it are in on it. Not even counting the thousands and thousands of youtube influencers or no matter that additionally assist unfold these rumors far and extensive to make sure the inventory trades like a excessive flying cloud software program firm…”
James Ochoa
Whereas rumors fly, Tesla’s competitors heats up
In keeping with the newest information from Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue E book, Tesla stays on the prime of the EV meals chain, however its place is being chipped away.
Their information reveals that it has stored a streak the place its EV market share fell beneath 50%, as the third quarter of 2024 marked its second quarter in mentioned place, as its gross sales made up 48.2% of the business in Q3.
Moreover, institution automakers are successfully making their present choices extra enticing than Tesla. Common Motors’ Chevrolet Equinox EV undercuts Tesla’s Mannequin Y at $33,600, or $26,100, earlier than charges and after the $7,500 IRA Federal tax credit score, whereas Honda’s Prologue has develop into a gross sales chief in the identical section.
In a characteristic by PCMag, homeowners credit score the Honda’s simplistic design and the convenience of use as the reason why they adopted the Prologue over comparable Tesla fashions. Nonetheless, most notably, one proprietor talked about that Honda closely incentivizes homeowners to scoop one up with engaging lease offers and incentives.
“It’s an awesome automobile for what it does, on the worth you may get one for with all of the rebates and presents from Honda,” one proprietor informed PCMag. “They’re virtually (kinda actually) begging folks to purchase these items.”
Tesla, Inc. trades on the NASDAQ as TSLA.
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