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Tesla’s $25K car will force EV rivals to make painful sacrifices: industry experts

(Credit: Vince Burlapp)

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Industry experts from South Korea have noted that Tesla’s upcoming $25,0000 vehicle, which is expected to debut in about three years, will likely force the hand of the company’s domestic rivals. With such a vehicle in the market, automakers like Hyundai and Kia would have to come up with comparably-priced electric cars that could compete with Tesla in terms of price and features. Such initiatives would require vast resources to pull off. 

In a statement to The Korea Bizwire, the industry experts noted that local EV manufacturers would likely need about four or five years to come up with a vehicle that’s on par with Tesla’s $25,000 car. Elon Musk has noted that the $25,000 Tesla will still feature great performance and tech like the company’s existing S3XY vehicle lineup. That’s a pretty high bar for rivals to meet, considering Tesla’s battery and tech advantage. 

Current average market prices of EVs in South Korea excluding subsidies range between 45.6-48.8 million won (about $38,900-$41,600) for medium-sized models and about 39.2 million to 41.7 million won for smaller cars. With this in mind, the idea of a premium EV priced below 30 million won would likely be possible only if South Korean battery makers like LG Chem decide to match their prices with Tesla. 

If domestic battery suppliers are unable to offer this, countries like South Korea would likely have to deal with an EV market that’s dominated by Tesla’s $25,000 car. In a statement to the publication, Lee Hang-gu, a senior researcher at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, noted that companies like Hyundai, which already have an EV program, could see losses if they cut production costs to a level that matches Tesla. 

“Hyundai Motor will lose 12 trillion won if domestic car makers cut production costs by 30 to 40 percent to compete with Tesla,” Lee said. 

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The upcoming arrival of Tesla’s $25,000 car may end up fostering innovation among its domestic rivals as well. Kwon Soon-woo, a researcher at SK Securities Co, explained that local electric car makers could catch up to Tesla’s price and level, but the automakers would have to sacrifice their profits in exchange for rapid technical breakthroughs in the coming years. But even then, Tesla’s $25,000 vehicle would still likely beat its rivals to market. 

“If automakers sacrifice profits in exchange for a breakthrough in the market, EVs that cost less than 30 million won may be available in four to five years,” Kwon said. 

Tesla’s $25,000 car has captured the interest of the EV market simply because such a vehicle could effectively transform Tesla into one of the most dominant automakers in the industry. With its price, Tesla would be able to cater to a much wider demographic than before, allowing the company to render even affordable ICE cars irrelevant. Such a vehicle may very well be successful in locations like South Korea and other surrounding Asian countries where affordable, practical vehicles are preferred. 

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla opens Robotaxi access to everyone — but there’s one catch

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.

It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.

In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.

The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.

Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.

Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.

Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.

We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:

The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.

In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.

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Tesla analyst sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing: here’s why

“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”

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tesla interior operating on full self driving
Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla analyst Stephen Gengaro of Stifel sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing, and he believes more and more people will commit to paying for the full suite or the subscription service after they try it.

Full Self-Driving is Tesla’s Level 2 advanced driver assistance suite (ADAS), and is one of the most robust on the market. Over time, the suite gets better as the company accumulates data from every mile driven by its fleet of vehicles, which has swelled to over five million cars sold.

The suite features a variety of advanced driving techniques that many others cannot do. It is not your typical Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Lane Keeping ADAS system. Instead, it can handle nearly every possible driving scenario out there.

It still requires the driver to pay attention and ultimately assume responsibility for the vehicle, but their hands are not required to be on the steering wheel.

It is overwhelmingly impressive, and as a personal user of the FSD suite on a daily basis, I have my complaints, but overall, there are very few things it does incorrectly.

Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.7 real-world drive and review

Gengaro, who increased his Tesla price target to $508 yesterday, said in an interview with CNBC that adoption rates of FSD will increase over the coming years as more people try it for themselves.

At first, it is tough to feel comfortable with your car literally driving you around. Then, it becomes second nature.

Gengaro said:

“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”

Tesla Full Self-Driving take rates also have to increase as part of CEO Elon Musk’s recently approved compensation package, as one tranche requires ten million active subscriptions in order to win that portion of the package.

The company also said in the Q3 2025 Earnings Call in October that only 12 percent of the current ownership fleet are paid customers of Full Self-Driving, something the company wants to increase considerably moving forward.

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Tesla scores major court win as judge rejects race bias class action

The ruling means the 2017 lawsuit cannot proceed as a class action because plaintiff attorneys were unable to secure testimony commitments from at least 200 workers.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla scored a significant legal victory in California after a state judge reversed a class certification in a high-profile race harassment case involving 6,000 Black workers at its Fremont plant. The ruling means the 2017 lawsuit cannot proceed as a class action because plaintiff attorneys were unable to secure testimony commitments from at least 200 workers ahead of a 2026 trial, a threshold the judge viewed as necessary to reliably represent the full group.

No class action

In a late-Friday order, California Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon concluded that the suit could not remain a class action, stating he could not confidently apply the experiences of a much smaller group of testifying workers to thousands of potential class members. His ruling reverses a 2024 decision by a different judge who had certified the case under the belief that a trial of that size would be manageable, as noted in a Reuters report.

The lawsuit was originally filed by former assembly-line worker Marcus Vaughn, who alleged that Black employees at Tesla’s Fremont factory were exposed to various forms of racially hostile conduct, including slurs, graffiti, and instances of disturbing objects appearing in work areas. Tesla has previously said it does not tolerate harassment and has removed employees found responsible for misconduct. Neither Tesla nor the plaintiffs’ legal team immediately commented on the latest ruling.

Tesla’s legal challenges

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While the decertification narrows the scope of this particular case, Tesla still faces additional litigation over similar allegations. A separate trial involving related claims brought by a California state civil rights agency is scheduled just two months after the now-vacated class trial date. The company is also contending with federal race discrimination claims filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alongside several individual lawsuits it has already resolved.

For now, the reversal removes the large-scale exposure Tesla would have faced in a unified class trial, shifting the dispute back to individual claims rather than a single mass action. The case is Vaughn v. Tesla, filed in Alameda County Superior Court.

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