Tesla to change production model amid plans to reduce overall cost of EVs
The carmaker also teased two potential forthcoming models, including a small addition to its fleet as well as a van
Tesla has hinted towards a forthcoming plan that will help to reduce the overall cost of its EVs, stemming right from the production line.
The news comes ahead of the all-electric American brand’s idea to release a smaller, ‘affordable’ model to its line-up amid heavy increase in competition and a huge overall price decrease to showrooms over the last few months.
During its yearly Investor Day event, which commenced at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, Tesla CEO Elon Musk conducted a presentation which outlined his plan to ultimately change the world to allow for a sustainable economy.
The outline revealed details about how the electric change could reduce overall energy demands as we head away from fossil fuel dependency, and even (strangely) highlighted a society where robot humanoids could outgrow the human population.
Leading up to the event signalled towards Tesla potentially revealing the long rumoured “smaller” EV, which would rival the likes of the Volkswagen ID.3 and sit just below the Tesla Model 3 in its range.
But while there were subtle references towards that smaller model, including an image which showcased two potential new cars that could enter production in the next few years, other details remained threadbare.
The images shown featured a somewhat cloaked smaller vehicle in addition to a van - the latter of which could slot between the impending Cybertruck and the Semi Truck models.
The biggest reveal was centered around a change to its business model, where Tesla states that changes to its production line would allow it to offer cheaper vehicles to consumers. But Engineering Chief Laws Moravy did confirm that it would not be applied to the Model Y.
One possible cost-cutting route could be offered by the aforementioned Cybertruck, which would allow Tesla to utilise smaller factories and potentially save up to 50 percent from production costs.
The reason this would save money is because it would reduce the amount of work that each car would go through during every stage of production, for instance, by changing the way the seats are placed and mounting them straight to the under-floor battery pack.
The body of the car would then be raised and painted accordingly, potentially cutting a huge amount of work that would be required in this stage during the current process.
Further cost-cutting measures could include the innovations currently being experimented with Tesla’s motors and batteries, which would reduce the amount of expensive silicon carbide required to make them in the first place.
This could also mean that its future models would be able to utilize almost any battery chemistry type, potentially making each car’s powertrain around £830 cheaper than they currently are
While the news isn’t the biggest, or most exciting in terms of moving EV technology to the next step, the potential to reduce costs all throughout the automotive chain is welcome news to consumers.