Tesla’s much-anticipated low-price electric car project seems to have encountered obstacles. Although Tesla CEO Elon Musk has previously denied relevant reports, Electrek quoted sources as saying that the project, code-named NV9, has been shelved and Tesla will focus its resources on self-driving taxis. .
Tesla has been working on developing its “next-generation vehicle platform” with the aim of lowering the cost of manufacturing electric vehicles. Previously, Tesla had revealed two upcoming models under this platform:
A model that is cheaper and smaller than the Model 3, often referred to as the “$25,000 (Note: currently about 181,000 RMB) Tesla” or “Model 2”
A new model called “Tesla Robotaxi” designed from the ground up for autonomous driving
A few weeks ago, Reuters reported that “Tesla has canceled its affordable car plans,” but Tesla CEO Elon Musk quickly denied the claim. However, the reality does not seem to be as simple as Elon Musk said. Elon Musk denied that the report could be related to Reuters’ use of the word “cancelled.” Sources at the Electrek website say the project has indeed been delayed.
While Elon Musk may disagree with the “cancelled” term, the NV9 project has effectively been put on hold as Tesla devotes all of its resources to its self-driving taxi project.
According to sources, in December 2023, Elon Musk said at a team meeting in Austin, Texas, that the NV9 project and the expansion of the Texas Gigafactory for the affordable model were priorities in 2024. However, the project was recently completely defunded, and many people on the project team were laid off in Tesla’s latest round of layoffs. Elon Musk said he wants Tesla to shift its focus to the southern expansion of the Texas Gigafactory, which will house the giant data center used for the Robotaxi project.
Shortly after denying reports that the cheaper model was being cancelled, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would release its self-driving taxis on August 8. However, the self-driving taxi project also faces the risk of delays. The project is now behind schedule and there are doubts whether it will be completed by the end of August set by Musk, sources said.
