Tesla may have already completed low-priced Model 2 prototype

Tesla has completed design and manufacture of a $US25,000 electric hatch dubbed the “Model 2”, reports out of China say.

A budget electric car from Tesla (which would undercut even the Nissan Leaf that is now the cheapest EV in the US at $28,375) was touted by Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk at the company’s Battery Day in late 2020 as he revealed Tesla’s plans to sell 30 million EVs a year by 2026.

Musk’s comments firmed up rumours that a cheaper electric hatch would materialise after  Tesla advertised for design staff for its Shanghai Design Centre along with an image of a hatch-like sketch in early 2020, and more recently Chinese reports suggested that a launch for the “Model 2” would happen by late 2021.

The latest whispers come via a Chinese Tesla insider known as “不是郑小康 ” who has reportedly broken news successfully about the EV maker in past. For this reason, the rumour has been described as “weighty” by another Tesla afficianado Ray4Tesla.

“The elusive cheaper compact Model Whatever may come sooner than you think. The prototype is said to have been completed & most component suppliers have been lined up. Trial production has been planned for the end of 2021,” said Ray4Tesla.

While Ray4Tesla added he thinks the rumour should be taken with a grain of salt, it would seem reports are mounting. That said, previous rumours fed by the Tesla media mill about a “million mile battery” that would be announced at Battery Day did not come to fruition.

Given Tesla, along with other manufacturers, is currently grappling with a semiconductor shortage and other material supply chain issues we suspect that even if this rumour does prove to be true, a 2022 production launch would be the earliest possible timeline.