Tesla's Model C: Half The Price of Model 3 & Model Y
Elon Musk himself, CEO of the Austin, Texas firm, recently confirmed this point. "We've finished engineering the Cybertruck and Semi, so you can guess what we're working on, which is a next-generation vehicle that will cost about half the price of the Model 3 and Y. It will be smaller, to be fair, but I think it will soon surpass the production of all our other vehicles combined” the CEO stated.
“We don't want to talk about exact [launch] dates, but this [new model] is the main focus of our vehicle development team. We're going to take everything we learned from the [Model] S, X, 3 and Y, the Cybertruck and the Semi on that platform. We are trying to get to [a cost reduction] of 50% again”, Musk said.
Everything indicates that, at least initially, the production of the vehicle will take place exclusively at Giga Shanghai, China; however, it could later also be assembled at Giga Berlin, Germany. It is not yet clear if it will be a hatchback to use like the MG4 Electric and Volkswagen ID.3, or a rival SUV to the KIA e-Niro and MG ZS EV.
According to Elon Musk, Tesla's access model should become the best seller in its range. The Model C, or whatever its final name is, would become another step in Tesla's goal of electrifying the world and providing a more affordable, sustainable, and greener way of life to everyone.
Initially, Tesla's new electric car will use LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries. Although its current supplier of cells of this type is CATL, it is not ruled out that the brand may eventually turn to EVE Energy or even BYD, which could supply its advanced “Blade” batteries.
As in the more evolved versions of the Model Y, much of the Model C monocoque will be built from large castings (front and rear frames); in addition, it is expected to incorporate structural batteries with 4680 cells, which will also allow Tesla to further reduce costs and maximize the autonomy of the vehicle, which in its access variant should be around 250 miles (400 km) per charge. Being lighter and with less actual performance than the Model 3 and Model Y, it should by all means be more efficient.
But just to make it even clearer, I will insist that Tesla has yet to officially launch the Model C (or Model 2), so any information regarding its price and other details are yet to be confirmed. The exact release date is also unknown.
In short, although the final price and features have not yet been officially revealed, everything indicates that "Model C” will certainly be one of the most attractive electric cars on the market, both in terms of price and performance.
Source: autoexpress
All images courtesy of Tesla Inc.
Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.