Elon Musk Dismisses $25K Tesla EV Rumors, Emphasizes Autonomous Future

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk has put an end to the rumors surrounding a much-anticipated $25,000 traditional electric vehicle (EV). He has stated that this idea is not aligned with Tesla's vision and that the company is focused on a future dominated by autonomous vehicles.

What Happened: During Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, Musk openly criticized the notion of producing a conventional low-cost electric vehicle, describing it as "pointless" and "silly" given Tesla’s commitment to developing fully autonomous cars.

“I think having a regular $25,000 model is pointless. Yeah. It would be silly. Like, it’ll be completely at odds with what we believe,” Musk remarked.

In place of the traditional vehicle, Tesla is directing its resources towards the creation of a dedicated robotaxi known as the “Cybercab.” This innovative vehicle will be engineered solely for autonomous driving, completely lacking a steering wheel or pedals.

“Autonomous, it’s fully considered cost per mile, is what matters,” Musk elaborated. “And if you try to make a car that is, essentially, a hybrid manual automatic car, it’s not going to be as good as a dedicated autonomous car.”

Future Production Goals: Tesla envisions a future that is clearly autonomous. Plans are underway to start volume production of the Cybercab by 2026, setting ambitious targets of producing 2 to 4 million units annually across several factories.

“I think it’s going to be very obvious in retrospect… that the future is autonomous electric vehicles,” Musk stated. He added that non-autonomous gasoline-operated vehicles may soon be as uncommon as riding horses or using old rotary phones.

Currently, Tesla manufactures around 35,000 autonomous-capable vehicles each week. Musk compared this production scale to that of competitors such as Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Waymo, which operates a significantly smaller fleet of under 1,000 vehicles.

Pricing and Services: Although Musk has ruled out the affordable $25,000 vehicle, he mentioned that Tesla still plans to release a more budget-friendly EV priced under $30,000, expected to debut in the first half of 2025. However, this new vehicle will also be centered around autonomous functionality.

Furthermore, the company intends to launch its robotaxi service in states like Texas and California in the coming year, pending regulatory approvals, with Texas likely to proceed more quickly due to less stringent regulations.

This strategic direction is significant as Tesla remains one of the few electric vehicle manufacturers globally to record profits. Musk highlighted during the call that, "to the best of my knowledge, there was no EV division of any company, of any existing auto company, that is profitable.”

The decision reflects Tesla's strong confidence in its autonomous driving technology, with expectations that its Full Self-Driving system will achieve safety levels that surpass human capabilities by the second quarter of 2025.

Tesla, Elon, Autonomous