Elon Musk Refutes Reports on Tesla's Low-Cost EV Plans: What's Really Happening?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk strongly denied media reports that Tesla is scrapping its plans to produce low-cost electric vehicles, calling them "lies."

Citing messages from three sources, Reuters reported on the 5th (local time) that Tesla has decided to abandon plans to produce affordable electric vehicles and focus on developing autonomous robotaxi (unmanned taxis).

Reuters said an internal meeting attended by many Tesla employees in late February decided to scrap the Model 2, which is commonly used as a model name for low-cost electric vehicles, and that Musk ordered Robotaxi to "all-in."

However, after the report came out, Musk wrote in response to a user's post on X (X, old Twitter) that “Reuters is lying again.”

He then retweeted the post, "I lie because Reuters is dying," accusing it of "Reuters is dying."

Earlier, after the earnings announcement in January, Musk said, "We are very advanced in the development of next-generation low-cost vehicles," adding that the new car will start to be produced in the second half of next year (2025) at the Texas plant.

"It will make a big difference not only in the design of the vehicle itself, but also in the design of the production system," he said at the time, explaining, "This is a revolutionary production system that is much more advanced than any other car manufacturer's production system in the world."

Musk did not disclose the launch price of the new car, but the U.S. media predicted that it would be about $25,000, considering that Musk has vowed to make an electric car worth $25,000 (about 33.84 million won) since more than three years ago.

Key Takeaways:

• Tesla is *not* abandoning plans for a low-cost electric vehicle. Elon Musk directly refuted media reports claiming otherwise.
• Musk is committed to developing and producing a new, affordable electric vehicle. He previously stated that this car will be revolutionary in design and manufacturing.
• The low-cost EV is expected to be launched in the second half of 2025. It's anticipated to be priced around $25,000.
• There is tension between Musk and certain media outlets, particularly Reuters. Musk has publicly accused Reuters of spreading false information.