Since its inception in 2003, Tesla sought to reinvent mobility. The company’s first model, the first-generation Tesla Roadster, featured familiar underpinnings from Lotus, but relied on electricity for propulsion. While the model was not received as enthusiastically as Tesla had hoped, the company has come a long way as the carmaker to pioneer electric mobility in modern times. By 2023, the competition has already caught up and this prompted Tesla to reinvent, not just itself, but possibly, the whole EV segment. The brand will do so by developing a completely new platform for its next-generation models, and here’s why this could be a game-changer for the EV market.
The New Platform Will Underpin The Budget-Friendly Tesla
While Tesla is still selling plenty of vehicles, despite the recent drop in share prices, legacy car manufacturers are now matching the EV brand across the board. Tesla’s value-for-money ratio is still one of the best in the EV segment. With that said, Tesla confirmed that the next-generation vehicle platform is under development and the first model to feature it will be the highly-anticipated, $25,000 Tesla. Although more details about the platform will be revealed at the Investor Day event, to happen on 1st March 2023, we know it will be instrumental in making future Tesla models a lot more accessible in terms of pricing.
Making EVs More Accessible, Across The Board
Like everything that’s new and ground-breaking, electric vehicles were significantly more expensive than their internal combustion-powered counterparts when they initially arrived. While the price difference isn’t as significant nowadays, cars in general, have become more expensive due to internal and external industry factors. Elon Musk said that Tesla's new platform, which is still in development, will be half the price of what the Model 3/Model Y platform currently costs. Another aspect Musk shared is that any electric car based on this platform will be produced in much higher quantities, compared to all Tesla models produced so far.
It is clear that Tesla’s plan for the foreseeable future is to adopt a larger-scale production method that would give the general public more budget-friendly EV options. Moreover, Tesla is one of the first car companies that allow customers to order cars directly from the company, bypassing the obscene markups, independent dealerships are known to charge. Some legacy automakers, like BMW, are also working towards transitioning to a similar sales model, which will potentially, attract more customers, previously driven away by the aforementioned dealer markups.
In Two Years, Tesla Will Redefine Efficient Production
Tesla’s future platform will be the third mainstream platform developed by the company, after the Model S/Model X platform and the smaller Model 3/Model Y platform. Musk already made it clear that this new platform will vastly surpass all other platforms combined, in terms of production quantities. Musk also said that the key to the new platform being so cheap to manufacture is that it will harness the full potential of the company’s production enhancements. Among them is the Giga Press, which is capable of casting large chassis sections in one piece, meaning the next-generation Tesla platform will consist of fewer separate elements.
The next-generation Tesla platform, known as the Generation 3 platform, is the company’s top focus. Even so, we will not see it earlier than 2025, since development is still underway. We know the Generation 3 platform will utilize the company’s 4680 battery, which was first seen on the Model Y SUV. As of December 2022, Tesla is capable of producing 4680-cell battery packs for 1,000 cars a week. With that said, the company’s upcoming, new platform will be smaller than any other mainstream, Tesla platform we have seen so far, so packaging might be one reason for the platform’s scheduled debut in 2025.
How Tesla Could Change The Car Industry… Again
Tesla will always be known as the car company that pioneered and popularized EVs in modern times. With models like the Roadster and Model S, Tesla transformed the electric car’s image from a bland and desperate sales pitch for sustainability to exciting performance models that run with the best the high-performance car world has to offer.
Regardless, Tesla seems to be at the precipes of revolutionizing the car industry again, by making EVs more affordable than ever before. Tesla is, in some ways, still the benchmark when it comes to electric vehicles, and once the new generation of more affordable Tesla models flood the market, manufacturers will be forced to, once again, play by Tesla’s rulebook. Just like Henry Ford invented the production line, in 1913, 2025 will see Elon Musk, possibly, revolutionizing the EV-making business.