After many onlookers hoped for a new car announcement at Tesla’s Investor Day, the automaker has officially detailed three new electric vehicles it plans to debut in the weeks since. And one of them appears to be the highly anticipated affordable mass-market EV that we’ve all been waiting for.
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Above: Tesla's cars parked in a row (Image: Casey Murphy / EVANNEX).
Tesla shared a document detailing its Master Plan Part 3 earlier this month, which revealed plans to launch three new EVs to continue helping the world’s transition to sustainable energy, as reported by The Street. The document notes plans for an affordable compact EV, as well as both passenger and commercial vans. The announcement of a compact EV set to arrive in the coming years has reignited excitement for a sub-$30,000 car.
In the document, Tesla’s “Batteries for Transportation” section shows a Vehicle Fleet Breakdown chart displaying the target volumes and battery pack sizes for each segment. Additionally, the chart shows the auto segments Tesla currently hits alongside those it plans to target with the upcoming vehicles, dubbed “TBD” in the chart, as can be seen recreated below.
|
Vehicle Type |
Tesla |
Cathode |
Pack Size (kWh) |
Vehicle Sales |
Global Fleet |
Global Fleet (TWh) |
|
Compact |
[TBD] |
LFP |
53 |
42M |
686M |
36 |
|
Midsized |
Model 3/Y |
LFP |
75 |
24M |
380M |
28 |
|
Commercial/Passenger Vans |
[TBD] |
High Nickel |
100 |
10M |
163M |
16 |
|
Large Sedans, SUVs and Trucks |
Model S/X, Cybertruck |
High Nickel |
100 |
9M |
149M |
15 |
|
Bus |
[TBD] |
LFP |
300 |
1M |
5M |
2 |
|
Short Range Heavy Truck |
Semi Light |
LFP |
500 |
1M |
6.7M |
3 |
|
Long Range Heavy Truck |
Semi Heavy |
High Nickel |
800 |
2M |
13.3M |
11 |
|
Total |
- |
- |
- |
89M |
1,403M |
112 |
Above: Tesla's Vehicle Fleet Breakdown from Master Plan Part 3.
“Autonomy has potential to reduce the global fleet, and annual production required, through improved vehicle utilization,” Tesla added in this section of the document.
Crucially, the chart points out that the compact EV will have a 53-kWh battery pack. The Model 3 and Y have a 75-kWh battery pack, while the Model S and X have a 100-kWh battery pack — expected to be similar to the commercial and passenger vans, as well as the upcoming Cybertruck.
Neither the compact car, the van nor the bus has been given names publicly yet, and it’s not clear when the automaker may share more details on the vehicles, though some have colloquially dubbed the compact EV the "Model 2," or "Model Q." Still, Tesla also announced the construction of a new Gigafactory in Mexico, set to begin in the coming months, where its next generation of EVs will be built.
