Source: CNMO

During the investor meeting with Deutsche Bank attended by Tesla’s Head of Investor Relations, Travis Axelrod, Tesla announced formal plans to launch a new vehicle called “Model Q” in the first half of next year.

Post-subsidy, the Model Q will be priced at less than 30,000 USD (c. 218,000 CNY) and potentially as low as 25,000 USD (c. 181,000 CNY) for the U.S. market.

The Model Q is internally codenamed as “Redwood” and will be built on Tesla’s latest vehicle platform.

Compared to the Model 3, the new car will be 15% smaller and 30% lighter with an overall length of approximately 3,988 mm.

Its manufacturing cost will also be significantly less than the Model 3, approximately half the cost.

The Model Q will use a lithium iron phosphate battery pack with 53 kWh and 75 kWh capacity configurations on single and dual-motor drive variants, with an estimated range of 500 km.

While it is unclear whether the new car will be concurrently launched in China, but the Model Q price is expected to be lower if produced at Shanghai Gigafactory at around 140,000 CNY.

The Model Q is likely positioned to compete with the Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin.

The Dolphin and ID.3 are very popular models in China, selling approximately 20,000 vehicles monthly on a combined basis.

Launching this new vehicle is expected to help the company achieve 20-30% year-on-year growth in 2025.

Currently, the Tesla Model 3 starts at 231,900 CNY, recently discounted by 10,000 CNY with year-end promotions.

Tesla is also expected to debut a facelifted Model Y, codenamed Juniper, which will feature major new design elements.

The Tesla Model Q is thus expected to become Tesla’s most affordable vehicle model, entering the sub-200,000 CNY level.

It will also be priced higher than the BYD Seagull and Volkswagen ID.3, starting at an estimated price of 140,000 CNY.