https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64577775/tesla-affordable-model-production-june/
How much stripped down could it be? Teslas are already minimalist to a fault. A cheaper LFP battery from CATL will have huge tariffs (or will it?).
Smaller battery/lower range, perhaps?
I’ve been buying cheap accessories on TEMU to flesh out the used 2020 Model Y I bought from Tesla for $21,000 (after the $4,000 used EV tax credit) earlier in the month.
intercst
I liked this comment to the article.
{{ Maybe Tesla would remove the entire screen. You will need to pair your phone and mount it to the dashboard to use it as a speedometer. They could also consider removing all the cameras since the target customer base for this will most likely not be able to afford FSD anyways. }}
intercst
Perhaps some clues in this article about Slate, a completely different manufacturer touting a sub-$20,000 pick up starting next year:
Body parts made of injection molded plastic (eliminates stories-tall stamping machine and plastic is cheaper than metal). No painting, everything comes in “plastic gray” (painting is a surprisingly expensive part of the process - all that spraying and baking and curing - and environmental regulations). And so on. Here, enjoy:
The $20,000 American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, and no touchscreen Is the market ready for a four-wheeled digital detox?
Meet the Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 (after federal incentives) electric vehicle that enters production next year. It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It is the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet it’s taken three years of development to get to this point.
But this is more than bargain-basement motoring. Slate is presenting its truck as minimalist design with DIY purpose, an attempt to not just go cheap but to create a new category of vehicle with a huge focus on personalization. That design also enables a low-cost approach to manufacturing that has caught the eye of major investors, reportedly including Jeff Bezos. It’s been engineered and will be manufactured in America, but is this extreme simplification too much for American consumers?
I’m not willing to pay for any automobile dashboard technology that duplicates any functionality I have on my phone. I think a stripped down, analog pickup would be a winner.
from the article:
{{ “Seventy percent of repeat warranty claims are based on infotainment currently because there’s so much tech in the car that it’s created a very unstable environment in the vehicle,” Snyder says.
Eliminating infotainment, the theory goes, necessarily boosts reliability. And reliability will be key because Slate is taking DIY to new extremes on the maintenance front, too. }}
intercst
Interesting. Which maintenance of Slate do they expect can be DIYed that can’t be DIYed on other vehicles?
(The only DIY maintenance I did on my Tesla is adding windshield washer fluid, so far twice as I was instructed each time to do so on the display. And I replaced the cabin air filters once. That’s all the maintenance so far since 2021. Oh, and a few months ago it told me that the low-voltage battery was weak, and Tesla sent someone to replace it in my driveway.)
Can’t remove them all. Rear camera is required by law. At least one of the front cameras is used for forward collision warning. And two of the four side cameras are used for blind spot car detection.
And my guess is that all these cameras feed into the same circuit board that has all the FSD AI chips. So to reduce costs they would have to design a new lower cost board and lesser/cheaper chips.
And you’d lose some of the functionality of the Sentry mode alarm system since it uses all the exterior cameras.
Mike
So? Keep the rear camera if it’s required. Ditch the rest. Use the same board if it’s cheaper than designing a new one, just don’t use all the capabilities.
If they can eliminate power windows in favor of the 1950’s crank, they’re not going to care if it doesn’t have “blind spot car detection” on the sides (unless required by law.)