Elon Musk Says a $25,000 Tesla Is Now “Pointless” and “Silly”

Once again, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has changed his tune from promises he’s made in year’s past. This time the new lyrics came during the Q3 2024 Tesla Earnings call. During the Q-and-A portion of the call Musk was asked about the on-again, off-again $25,000 Tesla and the second-gen Tesla Roadster which was revealed 7 years ago. What Musk had to say isn’t all that surprising.

See All 30 Photos30

$25,000 Tesla is “Pointless” and “Silly”

We’ve known that the fabled $25,000 entry-level sub-Model 3 Tesla has been dead for a while now, despite brief signs of life. However, we were never quite sure why Musk changed his mind and axed the vehicle from the future lineup. Now we’ve got our answer.

As the Q&A started someone asked, “When can we expect Tesla to give us the $25,000 regular non-robotaxi car model?” “We’re not making a non-robotaxi [model],” said Musk. “I think we’ve been very clear that the future is autonomous.” From there Musk continued on his usual spiel where he compares non-autonomous ICE vehicles to dated tech like horses and flip phones.

Since Tesla is all in on autonomy, it seems that it’s focus has shifted from the entry-level EV Musk promised years ago. “A $25k regular model is pointless,” said Musk. “It would be silly. It would be completely at odds with what we [Tesla] believe.”

So, is the $25,000 Tesla actually dead? It is if you were expecting one without autonomous features. Could Tesla actually manufacture an autonomous vehicle with a starting MSRP of only $25k? We won’t say it’s impossible, but this is the same guy who promised us a Roadster that can hit over 250 mph and have a 620-mile range. That was seven years ago. Speaking of…

See All 30 Photos30

Tesla Roadster When?

Later in the Q&A session Musk was asked, “What is going on with the Tesla Roadster?” Meaning the Tesla Roadster 2.0 which had a surprise reveal in 2017. Musk and his associates laughed as this is a question he’s persistently received since he originally promised the car 7 years ago. “Well, I just want to thank our long-suffering deposit holders of the Tesla Roadster,” said Musk.

“The reason why it hasn’t come out yet is because it’s not just the icing on the cake but it’s the cherry on the icing on the cake.” Seems like Musk enjoys dragging out metaphors as much as he does vehicle release dates. “Our larger mission is to accelerate progress toward a sustainable energy future,” said Musk. “Try to do things to maximize the probability that the future is good for humanity and for Earth.” Blah blah blah, we all want a “good” future for humanity in fact we want a great future, but a bunch of people dropped a lot of cash for a deposit, so where’s their Roadsters?

“That necessarily means things like that [the Roadster] are kind of like dessert,” said Musk. “We’d all love to work on the Tesla Roadster it’s super fun and we are working on it, but it has to come behind the things that have a more serious impact on the good of the world.”

That’s a noble sentiment, but we reckon that those “long-suffering” deposit holders you’ve thanked probably would have held off had they known that the Roadster’s actual release date was “When we’ve officially saved the world.” Musk ended the question by again thanking the deposit holders and saying that Tesla is getting close to “finalizing” the design of the Roadster saying that it will be “something spectacular.”

Musk could have stopped there, but of course he had to add one more carrot to the bushel that he’s already dangling in front of his very patient Roadster customers. Musk referenced his friendship with fellow billionaire Peter Thiel and how Thiel was “lamenting” that we don’t have flying cars yet. “Well, we’ll see,” said Musk.

So, on top of saying that the Roadster will be as fast or faster than most hypercars and have more range than any EV currently on the market, Musk is now suggesting that it will be able to fly. What’s next? A Cybertruck that can float?