Entry-level Tesla ‘Model Q’ looks set to be launched by June 2025

A more affordable Tesla model, positioned below the Model 3, has been on the radar since at least 2018, with the internet referring to it as the ‘Model 2’ or ‘Model Q.’ While the company has been coy about sharing specifics, comments from executives and financial reports in January 2025 suggest that its launch may be just months out.

Tesla confirms new affordable EV for 2025

During the Q4 2024 earnings call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company remains committed to introducing a lower-cost EV in the first half of 2025.

We will be introducing several new products throughout 2025. We are still on track to launch a more affordable model in the first half of 2025, and we’ll continue to expand our lineup from there.

Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja at the company’s Q4 and Full Year 2024 Financial Results on January 29, 2025

While he refrained from sharing product details, Taneja reaffirmed that the new model would retain Tesla’s core attributes.

As always, all our products come with the best software in the industry, autonomy features, and capable of full autonomy in the future, and despite the premium experience, the total cost of ownership is close to mass-market, less premium competitors.

Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja at the company’s Q4 and Full Year 2024 Financial Results on January 29, 2025

Not a de-contented Model 3 or Model Y

2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance infotainment system
Tesla’s new entry-level car will use a mixed-platform approach, borrowing modules or parts from its next-gen toolkit. Pictured is the Model 3 Performance for illustration.

Before you mistake the executive’s comments for a stripped-down Model 3 or Model Y variant, consider the Q4 and Full Year 2024 financial report, released shortly after the earnings call. The ‘Outlook’ slide explicitly mentions “new vehicles” and “next-generation platform” which rules out de-contented existing nameplates:

Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next-generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle lineup.

Tesla’s Q4 and Full Year 2024 Financial Results update presentation

What we know about the ‘Model Q’

On December 9, 2024, Becky Peterson of The Wall Street Journal reignited speculation about a Tesla ‘Model Q’ by citing a Deutsche Bank report on X. The report suggests that Tesla discussed the entry-level EV with investors at Deutsche Bank’s Autonomous Driving Day on December 5, 2024, in New York. Travis Axelrod, Tesla’s Head of Investor Relations, reportedly participated in the discussion.

Tesla Model Q front rendering
The entry-level Tesla could use a 53 kWh battery with Iron-based cells, giving it a range of about 250 miles. Pictured is an unofficial rendering from Sugar Design.

According to the report, Tesla plans to manufacture the new model at an existing facility, integrating production into an established assembly line. The company aims to price the vehicle below $30,000, factoring in the $7,500 federal tax credit. ‘Model Q,’ as Peterson pointed out in a subsequent tweet, is an internal moniker at Deutsche Bank, and not an official name.

In the document titled “Master Plan Part 3 presentation” published on April 5, 2023, Tesla discussed its battery strategy, laying out a table with the plan for vehicles in different segments. In this chapter, Tesla stated that its proposed compact vehicle would use a 53 kWh LFP battery, which we assume should give it an EPA-estimated range of about 250 miles on a single charge.

Customers should also get to experience Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) in the compact car. Currently, FSD Supervised v13.2 is offered on carlines with Tesla’s AI4 computer.

Musk’s shifting priorities

On October 23, 2024, during Tesla’s Q3 2024 earnings conference call, Elon Musk dismissed the idea of a $25,000 Tesla, calling it “pointless.” However, the ‘affordable model’ that Tesla plans to introduce this year is expected to be positioned slightly higher, competing with the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt EUV, which is also projected to start at around USD 30,000.

I think having a regular 25k model is pointless. It would be silly. Like, it would be completely at odds with what we believe.

Elon Musk, Tesla Q3 2024 earnings conference call on October 23, 2024

Musk’s statements at the time suggested that Tesla had scrapped its long-promised high-volume, budget-friendly model, instead prioritizing the Cybercab, the company’s upcoming autonomous ride-hailing vehicle. However, the Cybercab is a different project to the aforementioned “affordable models,” with the 2024 Financial Update report stating that the autonomous model is “scheduled for volume production starting in 2026.”

TopElectricSUV says

Tesla’s statements and investor discussions from January suggest that the long-speculated entry-level model will finally materialize in 2025. If priced around $30,000, it would open Tesla ownership to a much wider audience while maintaining core attributes such as software innovation, autonomy, and premium ownership experience. Additionally, it would help Tesla expand its market share in countries where Chinese brands dominate the lower segments with their compact crossovers and high-riding models.

Also See: Next-gen Tesla Roadster: 7 Aspects that we can’t wait to experience!

Featured image: Unofficial entry-level Tesla illustration by Sugar Design.