If we are used to Tesla delaying its models for many years compared to the announced schedule, this time it would be a pure and simple abandonment of the project. The brand would have given up on the long-mentioned small affordable Tesla, known by the code name Redwood and sometimes nicknamed Model 2 or Model C.
The information was shared by Reuters, who was informed by three sources close to the matter. Two of them say they received the information during an internal company meeting, which took place in February. According to one of the sources, “Elon’s directive is to bet everything on robotaxis”.
A smaller, more affordable Tesla was eagerly awaited, especially in Europe where the Model 3 and Model Y are already considered quite large cars. The Redwood project, also called NV91 internally and which Tesla referred to under the code name H422 to its suppliers, was already well underway. At the end of last year, Elon Musk described the technical development of this model as already very advanced and its entry into production was expected in 2025.
Tesla would therefore put an end to its race for volumes that began since the launch of the Model 3 and Model Y, which propelled the latter to first place in the ranking of the best-selling cars in the world in 2023, all energies combined.
This abandonment would also leave even more room for Chinese manufacturers and in particular for BYD, which has become the first brand of electric cars in the world in 2023 thanks to its accessible models. These very competitive brands are probably not unrelated to Tesla’s choice to forego entering the affordable electric car market.
Priority would be given to autonomous taxis
“I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication to pushing the boundaries and delivering the best design possible given the rigorous constraints we had to work within”a Tesla manager reportedly indicated on March 1, 2024 in a message intended for project engineers. “We wouldn’t want all of our work to go to waste, which is why it’s important that we close things out and document them properly”.
Thus, the technical development of the small Tesla could ultimately benefit from Elon Musk’s ambitions in the autonomous taxi sector, which the businessman has been eyeing for years. The fact remains that these famous robotaxis still seem far from being reality, at least on a large scale. If certain experiments already exist, notably at Alphabet with Waymo, a deployment on a larger scale in the near future seems difficult to imagine. Tesla’s Autopilot has certainly made significant progress in recent years, but it is still far from having reached a level that would suggest such use.
Elon Musk denies
Elon Musk’s reaction was not long in coming. In a crusade against the media, he notably responded to a user relaying information about “Reuters is lying (again)”. From there to affirm that the information relayed by the press agency is unfounded? Not quite. Perhaps Elon Musk would have preferred that this change in strategy was not perceived as an abandonment of the project, which had an immediate impact on Tesla’s share price, but as a sufficiently significant advance in capabilities. of Autopilot so as not to have to integrate a steering wheel into your future car. This is the hypothesis put forward in a tweet by an investor in the manufacturer, to which Elon Musk responded with an enigmatic emoji “👀”.