A new generation of advanced batteries. The arrival of the long-awaited Cybertruck. A factory in Mexico. And a Tesla car that is affordable for a lot more people.
These are some of the announcements Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk could make on Wednesday as he tries to reassure investors that the company can retain its crown as the world’s dominant maker of electric vehicles in the face of stiff competition from established automakers and relatively younger Chinese. manufacturers
Musk is expected to confirm reports in recent weeks that Tesla will build a factory, its fifth auto plant, in Monterrey, Mexico, a proposal that has been billed as the company’s “Master Plan 3.” Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday that the company had decided to build the plant there, but that Mr. Musk would provide more details on Wednesday.
It is also expected that Mr. Musk reinforced his promise that the long-delayed Cybertruck, a futuristic pickup truck with a stainless steel body, will go on sale before the end of the year.
It has also been speculated that Mr. Musk will revive plans for a Tesla vehicle that would be less expensive than the Model 3, which starts at $43,000 in the United States. Mr. Musk talked about a $25,000 car by 2020, but later appeared to scrap the idea. Whether the car would be as affordable when it goes on sale is another matter. Mr Musk and Tesla had said the Model 3 would cost $35,000 before it went on sale in 2017, but few were sold at that price. Since then, the price of the car rose steadily before Tesla lowered it slightly in January.
Analysts and investors have expressed concern that Tesla has been too slow to introduce new vehicles and respond to automakers such as Hyundai, Volkswagen and Ford Motor that have introduced a wide variety of new electric models, many much cheaper or much other than Tesla’s four models: the S, X, 3 and Y. General Motors plans to start selling three new electric vehicles this year, including an electric version of the Chevrolet Equinox crossover that will start at about $30,000.
Investors also expected Mr. Musk made an announcement about battery technology. You could say that Tesla is ramping up production of its 4680 battery cell, which can be manufactured more efficiently than older designs and packs more energy per pound. One of Tesla’s main selling points has been its batteries, which provide more range and faster charging than many of the models offered by other manufacturers.
The explosive event at the Tesla factory in Austin, Texas, is clearly a response to investors who have complained that the acquisition of Twitter by Mr. Musk last year diverted his attention and left him less focused on his car company.
In China, automaker BYD has overtaken Tesla in electric vehicle sales, challenging the notion that Tesla is poised to dominate the auto industry as battery-powered cars increasingly supplant gasoline models. BYD is now making a big push into Germany and other European countries, threatening to undermine Tesla’s dominance there.
It is expected that Mr. Musk talked about Tesla’s strategy to continue growing in China, where it has lowered prices to better compete with BYD and other automakers. China has the world’s largest car market, and Tesla’s factory in Shanghai produces more cars than any other company plant.
After falling 65 percent last year, Tesla’s share price has regained some of its value, but is still down nearly 50 percent from its peak in November 2021, when the company was worth more than a trillion dollars. Wednesday’s event is seen as crucial to restoring investor confidence in Tesla.
With the Monterrey factory, Tesla follows the same path as nearly every other major automaker, which has long made cars and components in Mexico, attracted by cheaper labor and duty-free access in the North American market. Ford already manufactures the electric Mustang Mach-E in Cuautitlán, north of Mexico City. BMW in February announced it would build electric vehicles in San Luis Potosí, where it already has a large manufacturing operation.
Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo León, has been less prominent in the auto industry than other Mexican states such as Guanajuato, where GM, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and Mazda have operations. But Monterrey is a seven-hour drive from Austin, where Tesla began manufacturing vehicles last year.
Tesla also has factories in Fremont, California and Berlin. The Austin and Berlin factories are still catching up, suggesting it will be a challenge for Tesla to manage another plant expansion.
Do you work in the automotive industry? The New York Times wants to hear your story. Please share your experiences with us below, and you can learn more about our reports here. We want to know how people in the auto business view the recent rapid growth of electric cars and trucks. We will not publish any part of your submission without your permission.
