Tesla boss Elon Musk has announced a new electric car model at the livestreamed opening of the EV maker’s newest and biggest EV factory in Texas, hinting that plans for a $25,000 “Model 2” hatchback have been ditched.
But the new EV model won’t be available to customers, says Musk. Speaking to the audience at the “Cyber Rodeo” event on Thursday night (US time), Musk said he wouldn’t “spill all the beans” on the company’s future plans but the said it includes a dedicated Robotaxi.
“It’s going to look pretty futuristic,” said Musk.
Musk has previously said that the Standard Range Model 3 would become the basis for a self-driving fleet of taxis that Tesla wants to deploy.
Now, the entrepreneur is hinting it will be a new model with a completely new design. However, no further details or specifications were shared.
Musk said Tesla’s Texas factory has been designed to be the “most advanced car factory the earth has ever seen,” and its opening is the start of a “new phase of Tesla’s future.”
“It’s a huge improvement for Tesla,” he said, saying that new factory has been designed in such a way that it reduces movement between sections, having learnt from Tesla’s Fremont operations that having departments in different buildings results in unnecessary transport of components, time and costs.
Instead, the Texas factory will “take raw materials in one side, and put cars out the other side,” said Musk.
The opening of the factory was also a sign of how far the EV company has come since it opened its Fremont factory in 2010, where the Tesla Model 3 was first made.
“When we first started out I thought we had we had 10% chance of succeeding,” said Musk.
Musk says the Texas factory will allow the company to scale to “extreme size”, aiming to make an astonishing one in five of the world’s cars according to Musk.
It plans to make 500,000 Model Ys a year there, and will start making the Cybertruck there from 2023. Production for the Semi electric truck and Roadster are also planned for 2023, but whether this comes to fruition amid ongoing supply chain and battery cell constraints remains to be seen.
Tesla currently accounts for approximately 1% of global automotive output – and wants to get to 20% to move the needle.
Tesla has also started making the 4680 cell at the Texas factory.. Musk said he thinks the Texas factory will also become the biggest battery plant in the world, although he did not outline the production capacity it will have.
All new Model Y cars made in Texas will be made using a front and rear cast piece joined by a structural cell pack that Musk says is more efficient and safer.
“The cells themselves carry the load,” said Musk, adding that the production method results in a lighter car that uses a smaller number of parts.
“It costs less, improves crash performance – it has a safety advantage,” he said.
In addition to announcing the new Robotaxi model, Musk also announced that by the end of 2022, Tesla will roll out the Full Self-Driving beta software to all Tesla owners that have purchased the package.
Plans for a Tesla robot named “Optimus” are also still afoot, with a V1 planned for 2023. Musk thinks that the robot may have a greater impact on the planet than the cars, allowing humanity to enter an “age of abundance”.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.