--- title: "Elon Musk: Tesla Working on Next-Gen Car That Costs Half as Much as a Model 3" description: "A much more affordable vehicle may eventually be joining Tesla's lineup of EVs at roughly half the cost of the Model 3 and Model Y." date: "2022-10-20" modified: "2022-10-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-new-car-costs-half" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "evs" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk: Tesla Working on Next-Gen Car That Costs Half as Much as a Model 3 ![A much more affordable vehicle may eventually be joining Tesla's lineup of EVs at roughly half the cost of the Model 3 and Model Y.]() *\Image: Tesla/Futurism\* ## Compact EV A much more affordable vehicle may eventually be joining Tesla's lineup of EVs at roughly half the cost of the Model 3 and Model Y. At least, that's what CEO Elon Musk [promised]() during the company's earnings call on Wednesday — and there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the announcement. The automaker's next platform will be more compact than the company's Model 3 sedan, Musk said during the earnings report's Q&A session. "The next-generation vehicle will be about half the cost of the 3/Y platform and it will be smaller," Musk added, [as quoted by *InsideEVs*](). "It will, I think, certainly exceed the production of all other vehicles combined." Musk did not reveal the vehicle's name, nor did he specify a release date — but the billionaire CEO did say it's "the primary focus of the new vehicle development team." ## $25,000 Tesla The unnamed car has been [heavily speculated on]() by Tesla fans due to its rumored $25,000 price tag, which [Musk promised back in 2020](). However, earlier this year, Musk appeared to [go back on his word]() after saying Tesla had "too much on its plate" to develop the car. Now, it looks like he's had a change of heart yet again. With mass manufacturing at an affordable cost, the upcoming car could potentially allow the automaker to access an untapped market of buyers on a limited budget. ## Getting Serious But as we've seen with many of Tesla's other offerings, launching an entirely new platform is a hugely demanding task that has historically taken much longer than Musk would've liked. Besides, Tesla is probably more worried about getting its [Cybertruck]() out of the door first, anyways. Nonetheless, it's exciting news for Tesla fans who are eager to get behind the wheel of one, but couldn't afford to shell out big bucks. The Model 3, Tesla's cheapest car, costs [upwards of $48,000]() for a brand new model. In short, we'll have to wait and see if Musk is serious or just leading on his fans and investors. **More on Tesla:** *[Overwhelming Majority of Automated Driving Deaths Caused by Tesla Vehicles]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()