It was back in 2020 that Tesla boss Elon Musk announced a new cut-price model would join his range of electric cars.
This smaller EV would sit below the Model Y and Model 3 as the most affordable member of the brand’s line-up with a price of less than A$40,000. The public and media, like expectant parents, even named the new baby Tesla — the Model 2.
Now, more than four years later it’s nowhere to be seen — or did Musk just reveal the Model 2 without any of us even realising?
Despite public events appearing to make Elon uneasy, the tech billionaire hardly shies away from them. Musk knows how to generate interest; whether he’s standing beside a launchpad making promises about rockets to Mars, joining Donald Trump on stage in a presidential campaign or using a movie set to reveal his new autonomous taxi and his domestic robots as he did last weekend at his We, Robot showcase.
And then, once the interest is ignited… nothing. Well, not for some time at least, often taking years before the teased product comes into existence. Musk even admitted having “optimistic deadlines” at the event.
We saw this with the Cybertruck, the Tesla Semi, the Roadster, the Model 2 and now the Cybercab — allegedly due in 2026.
The We, Robot event was held at Warner Brothers Movie Studios in California and saw Musk get picked up by a small two-door electric vehicle and ferried away. The fully autonomous Cybercab (or Robotaxi) was presented as the future of personal transportation with owners able to send it out to work taking fare-paying passengers to their destinations while they could snooze at home.
Apart from its large, disc wheels (that are actually a visual trick achieved with some extra gold paint) and scissor-opening doors, the gold-coloured Cybertaxi did not look too far removed from other Tesla vehicles. It had the sleek sports car nose and bulging front wheel arches of the Model 3 while the rear design brought strong Cybertruck vibes.
But, what if this was the Model 2 and nobody realised? It’s the kind of joke Musk would surely find hilarious.
Should we be readying ourselves for a totally-out-of-context-tweet asking us what we thought of the Model 2’s looks? Or perhaps the display was a way to gauge public opinion on the new or proposed design of something that will become the Model 2. Only Musk and his inner circle would know.
Until now, the only image of what could be the Model 2 that has been released by Tesla is a silhouette of a vehicle shown during the company’s annual shareholder meeting in 2023.
Then, at the start of this year a grainy low-resolution photo of a two door hatch-style vehicle began circulating, allegedly of the Model 2 under development at Tesla’s Giga factory in Berlin. This is not an official Tesla image but many believe it to be a legitimately leaked photo of a mule or prototype, possibly for the Model 2.
The exclusive CarsGuide image you can see here is our artist’s rendering of what the Model 2 could look like based on Musk's announcements, the design of the Cybercab from the We, Robot event and those prior teasers. Time will tell how close we were to the production model.
All we have to go by is what Musk has told us and that is an affordable, smaller vehicle will join the line-up in 2025 and sit below the Model 3. He hasn’t even confirmed that Model 2 will be the name.
According to Musk, this smaller EV is expected to be built at Tesla’s Giga Factory in Texas, alongside the Model Y and launch in 2025. A whole new platform shared with the Robotaxi was expected but reports have suggested it will combine new production techniques from Cybercab with a cost-cut version of the Model Y's underpinnings.
“I think the revolution in manufacturing that will be represented by that car will blow people’s minds,” Musk said. “It’s a level of production technology that is far in advance of any automotive plant on Earth.”
Musk needs a smaller, lower-priced model in his range if he plans to compete or even survive against new players such as BYD and other Chinese carmakers who are moving faster than mainstream brands to bring affordable electric vehicles to buyers.
Unlike other deadlines that have blown out by years Musk's plans to bring Model 2 here next year must happen, otherwise the Tesla might not be able to catch the new rivals who are already off to a lightening quick start.
If Tesla gets it right, the Model 2 has the potential to shock the market and catch legacy brands like Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda, Volkswagen and Nissan at series risk.
It might already be too late, though. Following the We, Robot event Musk's net worth dropped by US$15 billion as Tesla's shares went on a nine per cent nose dive. There is some positivity, though with Musk promising the Cybercab will be relatively affordable at sub-US$30,000 (A$45,000) per unit suggesting a more traditional small Model 2 could hit the promised price target.
While the Cybercab event appears then to have been a resounding flop most people who tuned in were probably more disappointed that Musk didn't use We, Robot to reveal the Model 2. But, maybe he did.
