Tesla £20,000 hatchback teased ahead of Investors Day event
Tesla teased sketches of forthcoming cars in a social media video
American firm’s Volkswagen ID 3 rival may be first to use next-generation platform to be revealed at the major event
Tesla could reveal its tipped Volkswagen ID 3-rivalling electric hatchback during Wednesday’s Investor Day, where CEO Elon Musk will announce the firm’s third-generation EV platform.
Along with what appears to be sketches of facelifted Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y, a side-profile drawing of what would be Tesla’s smallest model – and its cheapest, at an expected £20,000 – was shown in a preview video for the major event, previewing three doors and much smaller, squatter proportions than the Model 3.
Although not officially confirmed, it's likely that it could be the first cars to use the American firm's next-generation EV platform, codenamed Generation 3.
Musk has previously said the platform will ensure that Tesla can cut production costs (and therefore vehicle prices) and double its current output.
The incredibly successful Model 3 is Tesla’s current cheapest offering, priced from £42,000 in its most affordable form in the UK. As reported by InsideEVs, Musk said the firm’s new platform will mean producing EVs at half this cost, which suggests that a mass-market, affordable hatchback is viable.
Previously tipped to go on sale in 2023, a starting price in the US of around $25,000 has been suggested for the hatchback, which translates to less than £18,000 – but Tesla’s models typically cost slightly more outside of its homeland, so an on-sale price of around £20,000 is more likely.
For this price, a range of 250 miles from a 50kWh battery (its smallest pack so far) has been tipped as the firm takes a stab at the ID 3, Nissan Leaf and Kia e-Niro.
The new hatchback will allegedly be produced in China, as reported by Teslarati, with Tesla China posting a job offering to prospective factory workers on a poster showing the same nameless compact hatchback.
Tesla currently offers four cars in its range; the Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y, which each came to market in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019 respectively. These all use Tesla’s soon-to-be-replaced second-generation platform.