The $25k Tesla car (Tesla Model 2) would be ideal for India

Tesla confirmed two new electric cars at the 2020 Annual General Meeting and Battery Day. The first Tesla electric car would make the brand more accessible at a lower than ever price of $ 25,000, or 18 lakh (18.38 lakh).

The Tesla Small EV, possibly the Tesla Model 2, and the Tesla Robotaxi could hit the market in late 2023.

In its presentation, Tesla revealed plans to launch a compact Tesla electric car and a Tesla Robotaxi. These new Tesla cars would be smaller than the Model 3, currently the smallest and cheapest Tesla EV. Tesla Co-Founder and CEO Elon Musk said the following about the new entry-level electric car:

We are confident that we can develop and manufacture a compelling $ 25,000 electric vehicle over the long term. This has been our dream from the start.

Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla

Musk went on to say that Tesla won't skimp on the $ 25,000 electric car when it comes to the best driver assistance technologies. He confirmed that even the $ 25,000 Tesla electric car will offer autonomous hands-free calling. More importantly, it gave Tesla a possible $ 25,000 release date. Below were his words:

I think we are confident that in about three years we can produce a very compelling $ 25,000 electric vehicle that is also fully autonomous.

Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla

The $ 25,000 Tesla will likely come with a lithium iron phosphate battery.

Tesla takes a diversified cathode approach for its electric vehicles. There are plans to offer entry-level models like the yet to be named $ 25,000 Tesla (we'll call it the Tesla Model 2) with iron-based batteries. This would not only lead to lower costs for the battery, but also to its easy availability and thus to fewer supply bottlenecks compared to batteries with nickel, if at all.

To be able to scale we really need to make sure that we are not constrained by the full availability of nickel. I actually spoke to the CEOs, the largest mining companies in the world, and said please make more nickel because it is very important. And I think they'll make more nickel. I think we need some kind of three-step approach to batteries. So let's start with iron, which looks like a medium range, and then nickel-manganese, which is sort of a medium-plus / intermediate, and then high-nickel for long-range applications like the cybertruck and the semi.

Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla

Tesla has already developed one Model 3 with a lithium iron phosphate battery and plans to launch it in China this year. The $ 25,000 Tesla or alleged Tesla Model 2 arriving around 2023 could be a small hatchback or SUV with Europe and China set as the main target market. The production could take place in the Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai as well as in the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin. The Tesla Robotaxi could be a taxi derivative of the same, especially for Europe.

With the $ 25,000 Tesla finally on the drawing board, Tesla can now consider entering India. As recently as earlier this week, a report said that a Tesla Bengaluru Research and Development Center is checked.

Musk hinted at the 'Tesla Model 2' in July

Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, said in a call for results for the second quarter of 2020 last week that it can be assumed that the company will “manufacture a compact vehicle” in the future. However, he pointed out that if such a product gets the green signal, it will still be a few years away from sale and the Cybertruck, Roadster and Semi are the company's next new projects. At the same time, Musk said a variant of an existing Tesla model with higher capacity could be expected.

The $ 25,000 Tesla model would be a game changer for the company, and we think it's an ideal starting point for Tesla in India.

The fact that Tesla electric cars are still not affordable enough worries Musk, and he admitted that this needs to be addressed. One example is the new, cheaper iron phosphate battery on the Tesla Model 3 in China, which will begin production later this year. Tesla can be expected to take several similar measures to lower the price of its range of vehicles.

The Instagram channel FutureCarsNow has released an interesting rendering of a 'compact model' from Tesla Motors (see below). At the company's annual general meeting in 2018, Elon Musk, on the subject ...