Tesla aims to manufacture a 25,000-euro ($26,838) car at its facility near Berlin, a source familiar with the subject said on Monday, in a long-awaited move for the electric vehicle maker striving for broad adoption of its vehicles. Tesla has refused to comment. At 0910 GMT, its shares were up 3% in pre-market trade in the United States.
Consumer polls reveal that the expensive cost of electric vehicles, combined with high financing rates, is one of numerous reasons limiting the technology’s adoption in Europe and the United States.
Musk had long hoped to create a cheaper electric automobile, but in 2022 he stated that he had not yet perfected the technology and abandoned the plan.
Nonetheless, sources told Reuters in September that the carmaker was nearing a breakthrough that would allow it to die cast nearly all of the EV’s underbody in one piece, a breakthrough that would speed up production and decrease costs.
Expanding into the mass market is critical to Tesla’s goal of increasing vehicle deliveries to 20 million by 2030, distinguishing it from competitors such as Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), which have shied away from setting delivery targets and instead focused their strategies on preserving profit margins during the transition to EVs.
