Tesla may not come after all as reports reveal plans to launch the peeled model y

• A heavily advertised $25,000 entry level Tesla, Colloquially, it may be known as Model 2. Instead, future sales growth may have to come from cars without steering wheels and pedals, or cybercabs.

The biggest mystery surrounding Tesla’s product roadmap may have been lifted on Thursday, with news flowing from China, suggesting that there may be no Model 2 in the end.

beginning It has been reported By local tech website 36kr And later Confirmed by ReutersTesla has developed a low-cost version of the Model Y, with its bestsellers selling around 1.1 million units. This suggests that the desire for an entry-level compact car that could be a hatchback rather than a sedan will not be realized.

The codename “E41” will begin production in Shanghai next year, and will be at least 20% cheaper in production than the current updated Model Y known as “Juniper.” Reuters. If Juniper is disappointed, it could come even sooner, sources said 36kr.

Tesla did not respond to the requestluckFor comments.

As many institutional investors put a premium on tangible sales of EVs than their cute dream of building humanoid robots, a key growth assumption for many was that Tesla could enter new segments like compact cars and expand the addressable market.

These hopes have largely persisted as Tesla has been united since last April on a real product roadmap. “Planning for new vehicles, including more affordable models, is on track for production to begin in the first half of 2025,” was the most clarified in the comments.

CEO Elon Musk burned a hopeful ember at the end of last year, promising in October that Teslaev sales will skyrocket this year.

“In our low-cost vehicles, something like growth of 20-30% next year due to the advent of autonomy is my best guess,” he said.I said.

However, this was not repeated in the fourth quarter investor call in January. Officially, Tesla is only aiming to increase sales. The analyst is nowReduce their predictionsOngoing boycotts and aLack of convincing new products.

A suspicious growth story

The low-cost car, which was first teased for a $25,000 cost in September 2020, has long been a bigger strategic priority over Cybertrucks for many investors.

I have never achieved such a feat. If Tesla could turn an expensive medium-sized electric vehicle into one of the world’s most popular cars, it was trusted to build a smaller, lower-cost model that could break two million ceilings in a year.

But the final assumption Spy Photo What was believed to be the Model 2 came before the beginning of 2023. Reuters A report in April last year revealed plans for a low-cost vehicle built on a next-generation platform where cybercabs were being discarded.

Stock tanked the news, but Musk was able to restore Tesla’s faith. growth The story was unharmed saying he accelerated plans for a new, more affordable model by six months earlier this year.

“It’s pointless to have a regular 25K model.”

But he couldn’t be more specific. During the same October call that Musk predicted growth of up to 30% in 2025, he made comments that his importance may have been underestimated.

“It’s pointless to have a regular 25K model. It’s stupid, as if it’s completely at odds with what we believe,” he said.I said.

When interpreted to mean masks, they simply didn’t fire new products that were cheap enough not to have fully automated driving hardware, an AI reasoning computer known as AI4 (formerly hw4).

Now it seems increasingly clear that the explosive growth Tesla forecast comes from only one model, the Cybercab. The silver lining estimates that masks estimate their sales will reach 2 million, and even 4 million, a year.

But it is almost comforting for investors due to one important concern. Cybercab does not have a steering wheel or pedals. A complete legal and regulatory framework is required to be sold and operated on public roads.

Also, Tesla cannot simply convert cybercabs to cars for sale, by adding human control, as there is a small market for two-door cars with up to three people. The vehicles that are devised and designed can only be financially viable as vehicles of the lobotaxi fleet.

This story was originally introduced Fortune.com