Yahoo Autos Tesla Teases Three Upcoming Models, Possibly Including a Van
At Tesla's annual stockholder meeting, Elon Musk announced three upcoming vehicles.
One appears to be tall and boxy, and Tesla has previously shown interest in the van space.
The other two are low and sleek, possibly the Roadster—originally shown in 2017—and the robotaxi that is due to be revealed later this year.
At Tesla's annual stockholder meeting yesterday, CEO Elon Musk revealed that the automaker is planning a series of new EVs, teasing them with an image showing three mysterious vehicles under covers. Although Musk didn't specify what form these new cars will take, the teaser image and previous rumors about upcoming Teslas give us an idea of what to expect.
"Obviously, we've got some new products we're working on under the covers," Musk said. "I think these are going to be pretty special. I think people at first may think, oh, it's not going to be that amazing, but just wait, it will be."
Of the three veiled vehicles, one looks noticeably higher and boxier. This has led to speculation that it could be a van—currently being dubbed the "Cybervan" by the Tesla faithful. Tesla has hinted in previous presentations that it is interested in entering the commercial or passenger van space. The electric van segment has begun to heat up with competitors like the Ford E-Transit, Ram ProMaster EV, Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, and General Motors' BrightDrop Zevo.
The other two vehicles under the sheets both sport a low, sleek profile. One of these could be the second-generation Roadster, originally unveiled in 2017 and promised for production in 2020. That date has continued to shift, with Musk saying in February that its electric supercar will finally arrive in 2025. However, some Tesla enthusiasts are suggesting that since we've already seen the Roadster, it wouldn't have been included as a future vehicle in this presentation.
One of the upcoming EVs is presumably the Tesla robotaxi, which Musk has been teasing for some time now. In April, he said that the Tesla robotaxi will be revealed on August 8, and this purpose-built self-driving vehicle will make use of Tesla's full suite of Autopilot and Full Self-Driving software systems. Musk previously stated in 2022 that the robotaxi's cabin will not have a steering wheel or pedals, and more recently referred to the vehicle as the "Cybercab," sparking rumors that it will have a more angular design like the Cybertruck.
Even if the robotaxi is revealed this year, we imagine it will be some time before it actually hits the streets given Tesla's history of delays. (Musk even asserted in 2019 that a million Model 3s would be operable as fully autonomous robotaxis by 2020.)
It's also possible that one of these vehicles is the so-called Model 2, an affordable vehicle that would sit below the Model 3 in the lineup. Despite reports that this vehicle's development has been cancelled, Tesla never confirmed that work had stopped on the model, which Musk had suggested would arrive with a $25,000 starting price.
Regardless of what these vehicles are, production for all three is likely a ways off, since Tesla is currently focused on ramping up production for the Cybertruck and kicking off full-scale production of the Semi.
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