While there is nothing official about it (including its real name) there is some important stuff we do know:
- It will be built at GigaFactory Mexico
- It will be the smallest and lowest priced car from Tesla
- It is intended to be for the mass market — Tesla is projecting selling twice as many as all other Tesla vehicles combined
That’s the facts. Most of the rest are assumptions. For example, Tesla will do their best to source all the parts from North America so it will qualify for the IRA. Apparently that sourcing will include getting Chinese companies to open up production plants in Mexico. Aside from the IRA benefits, Tesla really needs this to keep supply chain paths under control. Clearly they don’t want to have to ship parts halfway around the world.
The cars will be primarily for the North American audience. Samuel García, governor of Nuevo León, says that all the permits for Tesla to build the factory have been approved. Unlike Giga Berlin, it is likely that construction can progress rapidly from now on. This likely means a year from now the factory will be open. Like all other Gigafactories, production will start slowly so don’t expect to see any Model 2s in your neighborhood until the end of 2024 at the earliest.
The projected price for this new car is in the $22,000 to $25,000 range. Some question whether that is possible but, to me, it seems easily obtainable. At this point Tesla knows so much more about making electric cars than anyone else. This knowledge combined with using castings and a continuing drop in battery prices makes this seem very possible.
