BERLIN (Reuters) – Tesla will make a car costing 25,000 euros at its factory near Berlin, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday, a long-awaited development for the electric vehicle maker as it aims for mass adoption of its cars .
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, did not specify the start date of production.
Tesla did not wish to comment on the subject.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk visited the Gruenheide factory near Berlin on Friday after attending an artificial intelligence summit in England.
He thanked the factory staff for their work, according to a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
At the same meeting, he also informed staff of plans to manufacture the 25,000 euro vehicle, according to the source.
Elon Musk has long talked about the possibility of developing a more affordable electric car, although he said in 2022 that he had not yet mastered the technology and had therefore shelved the project.
In September, however, sources told Reuters that the automaker was moving closer to an innovation that would allow it to pressure-manufacture almost the entire electric vehicle underbody in a single piece, a move that would help speed up the process. production and reduce costs.
Mass market expansion is key for Tesla as it aims to increase vehicle deliveries to 20 million by 2030.
Slow economic growth and high interest rates, however, have weighed on demand for electric vehicles, prompting Tesla and other manufacturers to cut prices in recent months to try to revive sales.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; French version by Dagmarah Mackos, editing by Kate Entringer)
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