Elon Musk at shareholder’s meeting September 22; courtesy of Tesla
On Battery Day, Tesla unveiled its new 4680 cell battery, which is set to cut costs significantly for the electric vehicle (EV) company. The day also included the announcement of a $25,000 vehicle to be announced in the next few years, as a result of the new cell technology.
Now, in a Twitter response Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that both Giga Shanghai and Giga Berlin will each do their own original car designs.
The tweet was in response to another user asking specifically if the Shanghai and Berlin design centers would design original cars, or if the two would be the same, smaller car. Musk, known for his short, noteworthy tweets, responded simply, saying that “both will do original cars.”
https://twitter.com/flcnhvy/status/1310482871950471169
Both will do original cars
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 28, 2020
The news is surprising, to say the least, especially given Tesla’s highly-anticipated Cybertruck, which is set to be delivered in the US by May 2021.
It does, however, make sense that Tesla would want to produce vehicles that are specifically designed with the particular market in mind, and the Cybertruck is a perfect example of that – in a European or Asian context, the truck would be downright silly. However, it was designed with the US market in mind, which is why it’s so highly-anticipated there.
Many have speculated about smaller Tesla models for the European and Asian markets, and it seems likely that these upcoming models will fill those roles. Still, there is no official announcement, and likely won’t be for at least a little while.
