$25,000 'Tesla Model 2' reportedly to start trial production this year

Tesla has confirmed on multiple occasions that they are working on an affordable “Tesla Model 2″, with Tom Zhu, president of Tesla’s operation in China, most recently confirming that the company is working on a cheaper Tesla for the mass market which is expected to retail for 160,000 yuan (£18,000, 20,500 Euro, $25,000).

The car, expected to be a hatchback, will be locally designed for the Chinese market, but will be sold worldwide.

Referring to the rumoured vehicle, Elon Musk had earlier said:

“Something that would be super cool…so we’re going to do it…is to try to create a China to actually design an original car in China for worldwide consumption. I think this will be very exciting.”

The car would be designed, engineered and manufactured in China a first for Tesla. “Vehicle design, vehicle engineering, vehicle development, and vehicle testing,” Zhu said, will all happen at the new facility.

“We now expect it be up and running in the middle of this year,” Zhu noted. “It has more than 20 professional laboratories. We will provide very good conditions to facilitate our R&D engineers working toward our ultimate goal. The ultimate goal has been mentioned in many public occasions. In the future, we want to design, develop, and produce an original model in China. It is manufactured here and sold to the whole world. This R&D center is the starting point of the goal.”

According to the report, the new Tesla was already approved in September 2020 and product verification should be completed by March 2021, with the first deliveries in 2022.

Now a Chinese car blogger reports that Tesla has completed the first prototype of the vehicle, and they are planning to start trial production by the end of the year.

The elusive cheaper compact Model Whatever may come sooner than you think. The prototype is said to have been completed & most component suppliers have been lined up. Trial production has been planned for the end of 2021. pic.twitter.com/ZCRDfc58kf

— Ray (@ray4tesla) July 30, 2021

Earlier this year it was rumoured that Tesla will show off the vehicle, which is expected to take after the Model 3, at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November 2021.

Electrek notes that a $25,000 Tesla depends very much on the availability of Tesla’s cheaper 4680 battery cells, and as far as we know Tesla is still having some problems bringing those to market.

Like most things Elon Musk, it seems safe to bet that the Tesla Model 2 will arrive more than a bit later than expected, but of course, Tesla could have a pleasant surprise in store for us later this year.