Elon Musk’s goal to make electric vehicles (EVs) accessible to everyone, similar to Henry Ford’s Model T, has hit a snag. Musk denied these claims, saying they were wrong but not explaining how.
The uncertainty about Tesla’s change in strategy is causing problems for people who want to buy EVs and for the Biden administration.
The International Council on Clean Transportation says we need EVs that cost different amounts to get more people using them.
Even though EV prices are going down in the U.S., they still cost about $5,000 more than the average price of a new car. Musk wanted to sell a $25,000 Tesla to shake up the market, but Tesla kept focusing on expensive features, so their cars stayed expensive.
Some experts think Tesla should stick with selling to richer people, like Apple does with its fancy products.
Tesla Logo (Via Clark Harvey/Shutterstock)
In China, you can buy cheaper EVs, but they don’t go as far or have as many features, so they’re not as popular in Western countries.
Chinese carmakers are a big challenge around the world, and Ford’s CEO wants to fight back with a new cheap EV project in California.
Both President Biden and former President Trump want to stop cars from China coming to America because of security worries. But if there aren’t cheaper EVs, Biden’s plan to have more than half of new cars be electric by 2030 could have problems.
There aren’t many cars that cost less than $20,000, and they only made up 0.4% of new cars sold last year. General Motors stopped making its cheap EV, the Chevrolet Bolt, which made the problem worse.
