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Tesla next-generation vehicle platform

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File:Tesla-next-gen-car.jpg
Teaser image of the next generation vehicle.

The Tesla next-generation vehicle is an electric car under development by Tesla. The next-generation vehicle will be the third mainstream platform for the company, and it is expected that production volumes will greatly surpass those of the Model 3/Y platform.[1] Although the vehicle has not been given an official name, the moniker Model 2 has been used to refer to the vehicle in the media.[2] The car will be manufactured at Gigafactory Texas, Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, and the planned Gigafactory Mexico.

The vehicle will take advantage of Tesla's advanced production concepts such as large single-unit castings, the "Unboxed Process," a 48-volt architecture,[3] and a structural battery pack utilizing 4680 battery cells.[1] It is expected to cost considerably less to manufacture and sell for approximately half of Tesla's existing lowest-cost vehicles.

History

Tesla has made public statements about another mainstream electric car product that would follow the Model Y and would be considerably cheaper than the Model 3. By September 2022, Elon Musk had reluctantly accepted the recommendation of Tesla executives Franz von Holzhausen and Lars Moravy that the next-generation vehicle platform could support both a small, inexpensive, mass-market car—as well as a self-driving "Robotaxi" that would be built with no steering wheel at all—and that both could be manufactured on the same next-generation vehicle assembly line.[4] By October 2022, the company stated that the Tesla engineering team had turned its focus to it and that it would be half the price of the Model 3/Y platform.[5]

The automotive media frequently refers to the car as the "$25,000 Tesla," but the time when it would come to market has consistently been unclear.[1] The next-generation platform was mentioned in Tesla's 2022 financial report as under development but provided no information about specific cars that might be built on the platform.[6]

During its March 2023 Investor Day event, the company clarified that the powertrains would be built faster and without using any rare-earth materials despite being more efficient and cheaper to build. However, power, torque and speed were not discussed.[7] The design for the platform was stated to require 75% less silicon carbide than existing Tesla vehicles, would support any battery chemistry, and that various manufacturing synergies would enable a halving of the factory footprint. The drive unit is expected to cost approximately $1000 and contain no rare earth minerals. All controllers would be designed by Tesla.[8]

The company also announced that the vehicle would use the "Unboxed Process," a method of assembly allowing workers to build large sub-assemblies of the vehicle in parallel before bringing them together for final assembly. Compared to the traditional assembly line method, the approach enables more people or robots to work on the vehicle simultaneously, speeding assembly and allowing fewer vehicle parts to be painted, reducing costs.[9][10]

In March 2023, Tesla said the Gigafactory Mexico facility would be used to build Tesla's next-generation vehicle and subsequent vehicles on the same platform.[11] The factory for the vehicle was placed in Mexico in an effort to keep assembly costs low, and Tesla has been encouraging suppliers to open facilities nearby, because it did not want to pay to import parts to Mexico.[12] However, in May 2023, Musk "decided to change the initial build location for the next-generation cars and Robotaxis to Austin" where more of Tesla's most experienced engineers could be located adjacent to the "new high-speed ultra-automated assembly line."[4] and this information became public in September 2023.[13]

Detailed design of the assembly line work stations was underway by mid-2023.[4] By July, public information became available that Tesla had submitted a proposal to the Government of India to potentially construct a Gigafactory in the country for manufacturing a Tesla car for the price of ₹2,000,000 (about US$24,400 at the 2023 exchange rate) with an annual capacity of 500,000.[14] In November 2023, Reuters reported that Tesla planned to also produce the car at Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Morris, James (January 7, 2023). "Tesla Next Generation Platform: Everything We Know So Far". Forbes. Retrieved March 13, 2023.[better source needed]
  2. ^ "Tesla Model 2 coming in 2025". carsales. Australia. March 2, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  3. ^ "Here's What Tesla Said About Its Next-Generation Car". Road & Track. March 2, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Isaacson, Walter. Elon Musk. Simon & Schuster. pp. 501–505. ISBN 978-1-9821-8128-4. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Lambert, Fred (March 2023). "Tesla is working on next-gen electric car platform for half the price". Electrek. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Kane, Mark (January 26, 2023). "Tesla Confirms Next-Gen Vehicle Platform Is Under Development". InsideEVs. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Pattni, Vijay (March 1, 2023). "Tesla's new, next generation electric car is… coming, and it'll be more efficient". Top Gear. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Morris, James (March 4, 2023). "Tesla Investor Day 2023: $25,000 Next Gen Vehicle To Be Made In Mexico". Forbes. Retrieved March 13, 2023.[better source needed]
  9. ^ Keohane, David; Inagaki, Kana; Campbell, Peter (November 5, 2023). "Toyota takes on Tesla's gigacasting in battle for carmaking's future". Financial Times. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  10. ^ Lambert, Fred (November 6, 2023). "Tesla plans to build its $25,000 electric car at Gigafactory Berlin". Electrek. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  11. ^ Shakir, Umar (March 1, 2023). "Tesla confirms its next Gigafactory will be in Mexico". The Verge. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Alvarez, Simon (June 29, 2023). "Tesla Gigafactory Mexico production set at Q1 2025: report". Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  13. ^ Isaacson, Walter (September 8, 2023). "Exclusive excerpt from Walter Isaacson's latest book: "Elon Musk"". Axios. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Tesla looking to make about half million EVs annually in India". Reuters. July 13, 2023.
  15. ^ Waldersee, Victoria (November 6, 2023). "Tesla to build 25,000-euro car in Germany: source". Reuters. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
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