Reporter | Zhou Shuqi
Editor |
Business Insider reported that Martin Viecha, head of investment relations at Tesla , hinted at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference held in San Francisco , that Tesla will launch cheaper products before the launch of autonomous driving rental services. If Tesla wants to be a large-volume automaker, it needs a broad product portfolio, which includes cheaper electric cars. However, Viecha also said that since the demand for Model 3 and Model Y is stronger than expected, the demand for new models has been reduced.
It should be noted that Viecha denied this report on social platforms. He responded to relevant reports and commented, "I have never said anything will be ahead of the 2024 autonomous driving rental service platform."
At the 2020 Tesla battery public day, Tesla CEO O Elon Musk publicly disclosed that he would launch an electric car priced at US$25,000 (about RMB 174,000), but in order to support other Tesla projects, he has put the project on hold.
In the eyes of the outside world, the main purpose of Musk's launch of cheap electric vehicles is to prepare for future autonomous driving rental services. But when it was actually launched, the first problem he had to solve was that the battery cost was too high.
In response to this, Tesla launched a 4680 cylindrical battery. According to foreign media reports, by using a new process of using larger batteries and dry-coated electrodes, Tesla is expected to reduce the cost of Model Y batteries by half, and the starting price of sales in the United States can be reduced by more than 8%. However, its R&D process has only been completed halfway and has not yet been prepared for mass production.
With inflation , rising battery material costs and strong demand, Tesla electric vehicle prices have risen sharply in the past two years. Tesla's official US website shows that the entry-level Model 3 model is priced at US$46,990, and the Model Y starts at US$65,990.
At the second quarter earnings call, Musk admitted that Tesla's current price is in an awkward position. "You can't just raise the price to a certain level just because you cross the limit of affordability, and demand will drop." He once said that once inflation stabilizes, Tesla's selling price will be lowered.
Tesla is also facing a counterattack from traditional automobile companies. General Motors CEO O Mary Bora said in an interview that General Motors will replace Tesla to become the world's largest electric car manufacturer by making cheaper electric car . And, GM and Honda have reached a cooperation on battery technology to drive further cost reductions.
Judging from the upcoming models of General , the starting price of the 2024 Chevrolet Explorer electric car and another unannounced electric car will be less than US$30,000, which is approximately RMB 200,000.
At this Goldman Sachs Technology Conference, Viecha also introduced more details about Tesla's production and manufacturing.
According to it, the manufacturing cost of Tesla bicycles in 2017 has dropped from US$84,000 (about RMB 585,000) to 36,000 (about RMB 250,000) in recent quarters. In other words, in the past five years, Tesla's bicycle costs have been reduced by about 330,000 yuan.
Viecha said that the reduction in these costs is almost unrelated to cheaper battery costs, mainly due to better model design, simplification of production processes and the establishment of new factories. Especially the two factories in Shanghai and Berlin, the production and manufacturing cost is lower.
"As new factories can produce more cars, the cost of manufacturing a bicycle will be less than US$36,000, which will benefit Tesla's profitability."
Viecha bluntly stated that in the 120-year history of the automobile industry, there have been only two major revolutions in the manufacturing industry: one is the birth of the Ford Model T-car , and the other is the lean production model launched by Toyota in the 1970s. "Electric vehicle architecture is so different from internal combustion engines, it will bring about the third revolution in automobile manufacturing."
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