The electric vehicle market is expected to change even more next year, as Tesla has told its suppliers that it wants to start production on a new mass-market EV, codenamed “Redwood,” according to reports.
The report comes from Reuters, which cited four people familiar with the matter, who said the vehicle is expected to be available in mid-2025.
For several years, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has discussed making a more affordable electric vehicle, first promising to build a $25,000 EV in 2020, a plan that was later shelved.
Currently, the cheapest Tesla on the market is the Model 3 sedan, which starts at $38,990 in the United States.
Musk has since re-sparked his interest in creating a cheaper vehicle, saying last year that he was worried high-interest rates would have an impact on consumer demand for cars.
According to the report, Tesla sent “requests for quotes” or invitations for bids for the new model to suppliers last year. The forecasts said that the company would look to produce 10,000 vehicles per week.
If everything goes as planned, production will begin in June 2025, according to the sources cited by Reuters.
Last May, during the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Musk discussed working on two new products that could combine for sales of 5 million vehicles a year.
“Both the design of the products and manufacturing techniques are head and shoulders above anything else that is present in the industry,” Musk said at the time.
However, the tech billionaire keeps busy, as he runs both the social media site X, space exploration company SpaceX, and a new artificial intelligence company.