I am not in the market for a Model 3 as my 2019 Model 3 "ain't broke." However, the Model 3 looks to be a good deal: color impregnated body panels - no paint shop and resistant to ordinary key vandals 50 kWh pack - what I've got with plenty of range ordinary doors or "angled wings" - plenty of images of 4-door versions as well as the nutty version improved manufacturing - lower labor and fewer external suppliers Source: Following "Elon time," it did not arrive in the first half of 2025. I would not be surprised if December 31. But the lower cost should make the ending tax credits unimportant. Speculation, this may be a local minimum for TSLA stock ... not that I have any capital to invest. I would observe that many excellent, used EVs exist if you want one for a cheap price. My universal recommendation, get one coming off lease and avoid 1st model year versions. Source 2: Wasn't Tesla supposed to start making a more affordable model 2 days from now? However, last year Tesla CEO Elon Musk refocused the company’s efforts on its much–delayed Robotaxi project, which finally launched last weekend in limited form in Austin, to mixed results. The company also wants to release a purpose-built Robotaxi vehicle called the Cybercab, which is first showed off last October. It plans to use its unboxed manufacturing method for the Cybercab. Along with this, Musk cancelled plans for a $25,000 vehicle, as first reported by Reuters and immediately denied by Musk. Reuters was later shown to be correct in its report. Musk routinely denies true media reports. Always priorities, we'll see. Elon continues to be distracted which bad for any CEO and the companies they run. Keep your commitments to your "bread and butter customers" and you'll get through hard times. Bob Wilson ps. Late thought, Elon makes a lot of profit from his software but he needs to have hardware to run it. This is why he will make the Model 2 and other future vehicles ... the only computer systems Tesla software runs on. For example, my replacement traction battery is the same hardware as the one that got cooked. But Tesla sells me a fresh copy of another 40 miles for $2,000. My replacement battery is already at 204 miles and I have 6 years of knowing how to drive it efficiently ... EV style.
Eh, it's vaporware at this point. Going by would Tesla said last year, it should be in production now.
I'll believe it when I see it. And with the cost of everything else, even cheap used EV's aren't affordable for a lot of us (at least for me) in my opinion.
Yes and know that Elon runs on "Elon Time" which means he seldom meets his claimed schedules. He uses these optimistic ('everything has to work the first time') to brow-beat his employees to work a lot of unpaid, overtime. When I was working, I would typically take the hours I thought a task should take and multiply 3x. This typically gave me a 50/50 chance of meeting the planned schedule. Elon chooses to announce a schedule based on his concept of his productivity and lays that schedule on his staff. Bob Wilson
I suspect you have at least one extra "beater" incase the primary vehicle goes down for maintenance or whatever. Check eBay motors for used EVs and you can, like I did, find bargains like: 2003 Prius - $5k 2014 BMW i3-REx - $29k ($51k new) 2017 BMW i3-REx - $15k ($52k new) At one time, I found a bunch of HW 3.0 Model 3s for ~$20k. But a 1,000 mile trip in the 2017 BMW i3-REx convinced me that a second Tesla was not worth the expense and risk of one company going out of business. Bob Wilson ps. EVs are "different" with a significant learning curve. The BMW i3-REx is the best PHEV because it has no transmission and a properly sized, 640 cc, ICE engine driving a generator. No longer in production, the 2017 and later models are excellent starters. Try to avoid the 2014 as a weak motor mount, a latent design flaw, was fixed in later years.
Yes, and it was actually a free vehicle (2006 Nissan Pathfinder) that I haven't spent more than $200 in parts on it yet. It does need some bushings in the rear to be completely highway ready, but it does work fine for around town. Before that most of my cars have cost less than $1,000 and would last at least 5 years. I believe those days of finding those kinds of deals are over. Thanks! I always forget to check eBay. The most I've spent on a car was $15,000 for my Avalon hybrid with only 50k miles on it. And it was and is still our main car to get around in.
$15,000 is a great price - although it will never be within 20% of that amount, if the car even comes into existence, ever. Yeah this is likely just a marketing ploy. Besides, aren't we still waiting for Toyota's solid state battery, which was supposed to be in production now? I mean speaking of vaporware. .
I sold all my TSLA stock to replace it with a solar roof (what powers my house as I type.) But from Sandy Munro's reporting and my understanding, this is possible: The reasons are: elimination of painting - embedded color in the cast, structural plastics, body panels. parallel sub-assembly manufacturing - instead of building one car, major assemblies are built and then integrated at the end. Problem sub-assemblies can be handled as needed, later, while overall production continues. reduced labor - manufacturing designed to avoid meticulous labor building one car at a time, serially. minimum suppliers - lower risk of production stoppage because a critical part can't arrive in time. I can easily see the actual cost go down to 1/3d of what it took to make my Model 3. There are risks like silly doors, but let's see what actually goes on sale. Then wait a year to see the final versions. AVOID buying a first model year car! I bought three, first model year cars and lesson's learned: 2010 Prius - exhaust gas recirculation from before the catalytic converter led to cooling valve fouling problems. 2017 Prius Prime - infantile control law problems. 2014 BMW i3-REx - weak motor mount failure (fixed under warranty taking 3 weeks for parts.) Bob Wilson
Time is up. Ironically, his supporters used pessimistic rhetoric to feed the the "behind" narrative for Toyota... which is falling apart and not even the biggest reason for Elon to be worried. Superchargers had always been a major draw to Tesla, giving reason for many sales. Even without the hail mary NACS rollout, increased usage of those stations would be a big problem for any type of Model 2 rollout. An entry-level offering from Tesla has always meant a smaller battery-pack. Less amp-hours available would equate to slower DC charging, adding to the problem of having to recharge more often on road trips. And of course, that optimistic expectation of 20 million sales annually would also add to SuperCharger use. It was a recipe for disaster... which is where the competition comes into the story. We have heard for awhile that GM/Pilot project would be rolling out lots of DCFC locations with business funding rather than federal money. That effort is going well. Another business partnership emerged with similar intent, backed by BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota. The first of those new stations just opened in Minnesota too. I filmed my experience there, using both CSS and NACS plugs. It's obvious Tesla is in trouble. The problem with "Elon Time" is obvious at SuperChargers. There are many V3 stations still not supporting NACS and almost all that do still force you to deal with the extremely short cords. I can't imagine the conflict caused by non-Teslas trying to use SuperChargers already filled with Model 2. You'd be better off just going elsewhere. It's a problem that will only get worse the slower Elon takes to address need. So much time was wasted on FSD, Cybertruck and CyberTaxi.
$15,000 is a great price for a new car. If I needed a daily driver right now, I'd be hard pressed to not try to find one of the last base Nissan Versas for around $17,000, although they are probably all gone at this point. Sadly, used cars are not only more expensive than ever, but I feel are more risky than ever too.
