Tesla will not introduce any more new electric vehicle models until 2023 at the earliest, but Model Y production at the EV maker’s new factories has commenced in small numbers, Elon Musk has said.
Musk said at the company’s earnings call on Wednesday (US time) that an official launch for the Cybertruck and the Semi electric truck will now be 2023 at the earliest, and development of a $25,000 compact EV would not be a focus for the foreseeable future.
“Well, we’re not currently working on the $25,000 car – you know at some point we will but we have enough on our plate right now,” he said.
But, Musk also confirmed internet rumours that the company is already making the Model Y in both Austin, Texas and Berlin, Germany. In particular, the Texas-built Model Ys are being fitted with 4680 structural cell packs, and first units of these are slated for delivery before the end of the current quarter.
Citing ongoing supply chain issues affecting industries on a global scale, the Tesla boss said even though company had a “breakthrough year” in 2021, in 2022 it will be far more important that the EV maker focus on ramping existing models.
“If we had introduced a new car last year, a total vehicle output still would have been the same because of the constraints, the chip constraints particularly,” said Musk.
The introduction of new models would have instead required “a bunch of attention and resources” on integrating them into current assembly lines and supply chains, resulting in fewer vehicles delivered, he said, adding this would be the case for 2022 also.
“So we will not be introducing new vehicle models this year,” said Musk. “It would not make any sense because we will still be … constrained.”
Musk did say that retooling for production of new models such as the Cybertruck – images and videos of which have been emerging in recent days – would continue.
We will (continue to do) a lot of engineering, tooling, and what not, to create those vehicles such as the Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster and Optimus (referring to the Teslabot) and be ready to bring those to production hopefully next year. That is most likely, but it is dependent on being able to produce more cars or fewer cars,” he said.
While Musk believes that the development of a Tesla robot, internally named Optimus, will offer enormous potential to Tesla’s factories and other industries at large by filling gaps in labour shortages.
“If you think about the economy, the foundation of the economy is labour,” he said. “What happens if you don’t actually have a labour shortage? I’m not sure what kind of an economy even means at that point. That’s what Optimus is about.”
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.