A small, cheap Tesla EV could become a reality. But would you buy one?

If you’re in the market for a new EV, and can get past all the… Elonness, then the latest rumours might be worthy of your attention.

The news comes courtesy of Reuters, who reports that Tesla is developing a new, smaller and cheaper electric SUV. It’s still early days, but the company has reportedly been speaking to suppliers about how the car would be built and what it might include.

Sources say that the cheap Tesla is a completely new model, designed to sit below the Tesla Model Y. At around 4.28 metres long, it would be noticeably shorter too – a more compact SUV aimed at keeping costs down.

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Those savings are also expected to show in the hardware. The mystery car will reportedly use a smaller battery, and offer a single motor instead of the dual-motor setups found on pricier models. It will also apparently weigh closer to 1.5 tonnes rather than the Model Y’s roughly two. On paper, that could mean less range than Tesla’s current SUVs.

As for the all-important price? Two sources told Reuters the new model could come in well below the entry-level Tesla Model 3, which currently starts at around $34,000 in China and roughly $37,000 in the US. If true, Tesla could be moving back toward the kind of affordable EV it once promised.

Not long ago, Tesla scrapped its long-rumoured low-cost Model 2 project in 2024, with Elon Musk arguing that cheaper, human-driven EVs didn’t make much sense in a future built around autonomy.

This new SUV doesn’t abandon that thinking entirely, mind. One source told Reuters that Tesla is aiming to build cars that can eventually operate without a driver, while still offering traditional controls in markets that aren’t ready for that shift. So this model could end up doing both – a cheaper entry point today, and a platform for driverless tech further down the line.

There are still plenty of unknowns, of course. The project is said to be in early development, with no confirmed production timeline, and no guarantee it will make it to market at all. Current plans point to manufacturing in China, potentially at Tesla’s Shanghai factory, with expansion to the US and Europe under consideration.

All we can do for now, is wait.

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Esat Dedezade Contributor

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.