A new vehicle type like a van may help Tesla more than an affordable car
TopElectric/YouTube
Tesla is known for its luxurious, high-end electric vehicles with cutting-edge technology and impressive performance. However, the company may be planning a significant pivot to produce a more affordable car that would cater to a broader audience. This move would undoubtedly shake up the automotive industry, but one renowned industry expert thinks a cheap vehicle, while doable, is not the right move for Tesla.
Sandy Munro recently shared his insights on the future of electric vehicles, specifically Tesla, with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. Munro sees a path that Tesla could achieve this less expensive car. According to Munro, it would need to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are cheaper and still good enough for most of the population. Tesla currently only uses LFP batteries in a portion of their models today.
Munro says no one makes much money on small cars, especially in North America. Furthermore, Tesla would have to be more frugal in its approach to creating a more affordable vehicle. This approach means the company would have to consider what features are not essential. For example, Munro suggests that cheaper drum brakes could be used instead of disc brakes and that Bose stereo system might not be necessary for a more affordable car.
Munro says Tesla could get down to $24,000 to $28,000. But he cautions, "coming out with the cheap car, what does it really do for you? Not much, because people are still willing to put their hand in their pocket and pull out 40 grand and say I want that one. That is the risk with small cars." He also says small cars make a few hundred dollars per unit sold, considerably less than Tesla's current margins.
However, Musk must see some advantages in offering a more affordable car; he told the B20 conference in November, "Musk responded to the question familiarly, "I can't speak too much to the future of Tesla product development, except to say that we do think that making a much more affordable vehicle would make a lot of sense and we should do something."
A No-Risk Proposition with High-Profit Potential
Nevertheless, there is a significant gap in the market that Tesla could not only fill but dominate, "if I were Elon Musk, I'd be looking at making a minivan or something like that. He can still make a shitload of money and not take any risk. That is a no-risk proposition, making a minivan." Musk has floated the idea of a "highly configurable vehicle" in the past, and Munro sees a gaping hole. "When Dodge and Chrysler walked away from the minivan, there was no minivan out there. There is one, Kia Carnival and these guys can't keep them in the showroom."
Munro thinks it is the marketing people who killed the minivan, "everybody in marketing says, 'oh, we don't want to produce a car like that because it emasculates men and it gives women the image of being a soccer mom.' Guess what? There are a lot of guys out there who like that car because it was the biggest selling thing they had, and on top of that, there are a lot of soccer moms! So why not try and take advantage of that?"
A Tesla minivan would have all the amenities expected from the brand, but it could also sell the safety factor. Teslas are repeatedly awarded for their rigorous design and commitment to safety. Given that minivans are synonymous with transporting young families, it would be a perfect match.
A concept of what the UI in the Robotaxi may look like
@dkrasniy
According to a report from Bloomberg (paywall), Tesla is planning to launch its Robotaxi network in Austin on June 12th. Bloomberg’s source noted that the date was still in flux, but this is the date Tesla is being planned around.
While the Robotaxi network may launch on June 12th, it’ll be exclusive to Tesla employees initially, allowing Tesla to iron out any issues.
The taxi network isn’t expected to open up to the public until late June at the earliest. During Tesla’s Q1 2025 Earnings Call, Elon stated that the Robotaxi service would only be available to the public in late June or early July.
June 12th is actually much sooner than we expected, so this is an excellent sign for Tesla, who typically pushes back events for finishing touches. The Robotaxi event, for example, was originally scheduled for August 8th but was rescheduled for October 10th.
The NHTSA recently reached out to Tesla, inquiring about how they’d handle certain scenarios, such as adverse weather conditions. This is a good sign that Tesla is satisfying those requirements.
Testing Happening Now
According to Bloomberg’s report, Tesla has already been operating test vehicles using FSD Unsupervised without a safety driver this week. A test engineer was in the passenger seat but did not intervene or provide any input.
Tesla has already been doing preliminary testing with employees in Austin and Los Angeles, but those have been with relatively small internal groups for the most part.
Tesla plans to launch the service with approximately 10 Model Y taxi vehicles initially, providing an opportunity to gather data and user feedback. According to Elon, in the weeks following the launch, Tesla will expand the program to more vehicles, with it hitting several thousand by late 2025.
Tesla recently started the Early Access Program for FSD users in Texas. It’ll be interesting to see how Tesla leverages these users to gather more data or help expand the program when Tesla is finally ready to provide FSD Unsupervised to vehicle owners.
Reducing Variables
There are a ton of moving parts involved in launching an autonomous taxi network, including insurance, cleaning, charging, and more. There’s no doubt Tesla is eliminating as many variables as possible, such as automated charging. While the Robotaxi will support wireless charging, these Model Ys are expected to be charged manually since Tesla hasn’t built the “snake” charger, and Model Ys don’t support wireless charging.
Tesla already has at least some Robotaxi code built into the Tesla app, so it seems like they’re lining up all the pieces.
While Tesla has been relatively focused on California and Texas, we’ve also spotted some Robotaxi mules making their way around Boston and New Hampshire, meaning that Tesla is already thinking about expansion or at least finding out what it’ll take.
We may just be a couple of months away from seeing a Robotaxi revolution in some American cities. While expanding to additional cities with varying weather conditions may be slow, Tesla will be out there proving what they’ve been promising since 2016.
Tesla has updated its Tesla app for iPhones to version 4.45.0 and it adds a really helpful feature — Live Activities.
If you’re not familiar with Live Activities on iPhone, they’re essentially an interactive notification that displays real-time information. So, instead of receiving a notification that says that your vehicle has started charging, it’ll display real-time charging information.
What It Displays
Live Activities are displayed on your lock screen or Notification Center. With Tesla’s first implementation, it’ll display a variety of charging information when you’re Supercharging, such as the time until charging is complete, your current range, and the estimated cost.
The Live Activity will also display a photo of your vehicle with the color you’ve selected in the Colorizer feature, along with a charge meter, allowing you to easily see how much your vehicle is charged. The meter will be grayed out according to the charge limit you have set in your vehicle.
The “Charge” label of the notification shows your current range and will display percentage or distance, depending on which metric you use in your vehicle.
In all, the feature will display all of these details:
Time left to charge completion
Charge/range in miles or percentage
Estimated cost
Current Supercharger powe
Current Supercharger speed in miles/km
Total energy added in kWh
The battery meter is also different for the Cybertruck, featuring the same slashes for the meter as the vehicle uses inside the car.
Tesla may soon support Live Activities for more than just Supercharging. While the feature doesn’t support home charging, or other third-party fast charging, there are other areas that will receive this real-time information.
One that is not often used but is just as crucial as Supercharging is roadside assistance. Tesla could add a Live Activity that keeps you updated without having to open the Tesla app. It could give you the current status, such as help dispatched or offer an ETA when help will arrive.
Tesla will soon introduce a Supercharger queue system, which will be utilized when Superchargers are at full capacity. When you arrive at a Supercharger, you’ll be able to join the queue so that you don’t have to line up your vehicle to form a line physically. Instead, you’ll join the queue and be notified when it’s your turn to charge, letting you relax or eat until it’s your turn. This will be especially useful when there’s a long wait at a Supercharger.
Code for Tesla’s virtual Supercharger queue system is already being added to the Tesla app, and Live Activity support will be included according to code found in a recent Tesla app.
What It Supports
Dynamic Island
Geonardo10inchi
The Live Activity is great, but what happens if you’re not on your lock screen? If your phone includes a Dynamic Island (iPhone 14 Pro and later, iPhone 15 and later, but not the iPhone 16e or the iPhone SE), then the Tesla app also shows a circular indicator with your current charge percentage and the estimated time remaining until charging is complete
Apple Watch
JohnH2k23
The Apple Watch is also receiving support for Live Activities in this update as well. It’ll display the same information as the dynamic island, letting you know how many more minutes you have until charging is complete.
Android Support
While Live Activities has been an iPhone feature for years, Android will be offering similar capabilities in an upcoming OS release. Android 16, currently in beta testing and expected to be released in Q2, will add support for rich notifications similar to Live Activities.
Adding live notifications for Supercharger is a great addition that we hope Tesla will support on Android soon after the feature is released.
![Tesla Model S Refresh Spotted With Front Bumper Camera at Nürburgring [PHOTOS]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/model-s/refresh/model_s_refresh_front.webp/e89d61b1039022383b01cbd0f2e4da97/model_s_refresh_front.jpg)
