Elon Musk Teases Consumers with Three New Tesla Models

The Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker has not unveiled a new passenger vehicle since 2019.

Tesla and Elon Musk disappointed their fans and investors last month. 

The automaker and its charismatic and whimsical CEO held an Investor Day on Mar. 1. The automotive and finance communities were expecting them to unveil a new vehicle. 

This car, intended for passenger use, would not just be any vehicle. The speculation focused on a Tesla at $25,000 or less, in order to win over the approximately 80% of consumers who cannot afford a Tesla vehicle today. The Model 3 sedan, Tesla's entry-level vehicle, has a base price of $42,990.

A $25,000 Tesla car is also seen by experts as the vehicle with which the automotive group could set out to conquer emerging markets and, above all, counter the offensive of car manufacturers like BYD. The Chinese carmaker is the world leader in clean vehicles – plug-in hybrids and battery powered vehicles or BEVs – in terms of sales.

BYD Is Closing the Gap

The most impressive thing is that the BYD, which is also a Tesla supplier, is gradually closing the gap with the American disruptor on 100% electric vehicles. In the first quarter, BYD  (BYDDY)  delivered 264,647 all-electric vehicles, up 85% compared to the same period in 2022. Tesla remains ahead: Musk's company delivered 422,875 all-electric vehicles in the first three months of the year, up 5% compared to the first quarter of 2022. The difference with BYD is 158,228 vehicles. A few months ago, this gap was wider.

But Musk and Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report did not reveal anything. On that day, they chose to talk about their new car development platform which would allow them to reduce manufacturing costs by 50%. Asked about the first vehicle to be built on this new platform, they declined to provide any details about the design or the performance.

They didn’t give any latest updates on the battery technology, their forte, either. Tesla is known for its battery technology that allows its cars to travel a much longer distance on a single charge, compared to rivals. Tesla batteries also charge faster than those of the competition. The new batteries, which are built in-house, are said to be further reduced in cost, which would allow the group to reduce the prices of the cars it manufactures.

A little over a month after the investor day, Tesla has just suggested that it has three new vehicles on the works. The first appears to be a compact car, while the others are believed to be a van and a bus, according to Musk's Master Plan 3 for Tesla, details of which were released on Apr. 5.

Battery Pack

The compact car doesn't have a name yet, but it appears to be much cheaper than the Model 3. It will have a battery pack size of 53 kWh, compared to the 75 kWh for the Model 3 and the Model Y SUV, the two most popular vehicles of the group. 

With a 75 kWh battery pack, Model 3 can travel up to 358 miles on a single charge. The range is important for EV buyers, who often make it a fundamental element in the choice of vehicle, because there are still very few charging stations.

The commercial/passenger van will have a 100 kWh battery, while the bus will have a 300 kWh battery.

The van and the bus don't have a name yet either. 

The compact car and the bus can utilize the lower energy density chemistries (LFP), while the van will require higher energy density chemistries (high nickel), the company said.

"High nickel refers to low to zero cobalt nickel Manganese cathodes currently in production, under development at Tesla, Tesla’s suppliers and in research groups," the carmaker explained.

Tesla already produces five vehicles: the Model 3, the Model Y, the Model X luxury SUV, the Model S luxury sedan and the heavy-duty Semi truck. Later this year, the group plans to start production of the Cybertruck, its very first pickup truck. This vehicle was the last passenger vehicle unveiled by Tesla in November 2019. 

Since then, Musk and his company have taken a back seat, watching rivals announce their new electric models.