Elon Musk says Tesla making a £25,000 electric car would be 'pointless' and 'silly' in major U-turn
WATCH: Elon Musk praises the Tesla Cybertruck at launch event
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Tesla founder Elon Musk has described the use of selling electric vehicles for under $25,000 (£19,274) as "pointless" and "silly", while seemingly scrapping a long-rumoured cheaper model.
The owner and CEO of Tesla recently spoke about the development of manufacturing low-cost electric cars that would compete with more affordable EVs already on the market.
He said that making a car with a manual or automatic transmission would "not be as good" as a dedicated autonomous car.
Responding to a question during the Q3 Tesla Financial Results call, the billionaire said: "We're rapidly evolving in manufacturing technology.
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Elon Musk has said Tesla would not offer electric vehicles with a price under £25,000
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"Having a regular, $25k (£19,274) model is pointless. It would be silly. It would be completely at odds with what we believe."
Musk added that the upcoming Cybercab robotaxi would not have a steering wheel and pedals since it was optimised for autonomy.
The 53-year-old confirmed that the Cybercab would cost around $25,000 and that motorists would be able to own one exclusively, even though they wouldn't be able to physically drive it themselves.
Tesla had previously hinted at developing a "Model 2" to join its existing line-up as a cheaper, more compact vehicle, even sharing a teaser image last year.
The Tesla Cybercab is expected to cost less than £23,000 REUTERSIt was suggested by many experts that the Model 2 would cost around £23,000, roughly £17,000 cheaper than the current Model 3 and half the price of the Model Y.
Earlier this month, Musk showed off the next generation of Tesla vehicles in Los Angeles, California, with the Cybercab robotaxi, a new Robovan and the Optimus humanoid robot.
He confirmed that the Cybercab would cost less than $30,000 (£23,128), go into production in 2026 and could even earn drivers passive income.
Arriving at the glitzy event, Musk was driven inside of the Cybercab, which does not feature a steering wheel or pedals. There were 50 fully autonomous cars at the event.
Musk suggested that, over time, the operating cost of the vehicle would be 20 cents (15 pence) per mile. A robotaxi has consistently been hinted at by the manufacturer, with vehicles potentially hitting the road within two years.
Speaking during an investors call in 2019, Musk claimed that the net present value of a single Robotaxi would be around $200,000 (£154,204).
In recent months, Elon Musk has publicly backed Donald Trump in the upcoming US Presidential election, even interviewing him on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a bid to get more Americans to vote, Elon Musk pledged to hand out cheques worth $1million (£770,891) to people who register to vote in swing states.
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Elon Musk spoke at Madison Square Garden yesterday in support of Donald Trump
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Despite defending his mission to get more voters at the ballots on November 5, the US Justice Department reportedly warned that the lottery-style giveaways could be unlawful.
Commenting on the move, Musk said: "We want to try to get over a million, maybe two million voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment."
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