Update: In a response on Twitter, Tesla IR Head Martin Viecha clarified his statement about the company’s affordable car and Robotaxi rollout. Following is the Tesla executive’s tweet.
The Tesla Model Y may be on track to become the world’s best-selling vehicle in the near future, but at the end of the day, the all-electric crossover is still a premium electric car that’s unattainable to a large portion of the car buying public. If Tesla would like to dominate the auto industry, it would need to release an affordable EV that can be purchased even by entry-level consumers.
The idea of an affordable EV from Tesla is not new, though in Elon Musk’s Master Plan, Part Deux, he noted that a lower cost electric car might not be necessary anymore after the Model 3 because of the company’s Robotaxi plans. But with the Robotaxi program being delayed — at least until Tesla solves autonomous driving — and the rising starting prices of the Model 3 and Model Y as of late, the need for a more affordable EV from Tesla is becoming quite evident.
While speculations of an affordable EV from Tesla have been abounding for years, Elon Musk has taken a conservative stance on the matter. In recent months, Musk has hinted at the idea of Tesla simply releasing a dedicated, futuristic Robotaxi instead of a more affordable EV. Tesla’s Robotaxi will reportedly be made with autonomy in mind, and in the Q2 2022 Update Letter, the vehicle was actually listed as “in development.”
According to Tesla head of investor relations Martin Viecha, however, the company may need to release a more affordable EV before the rollout of the dedicated Robotaxi. Viecha shared his thoughts during an invite-only Goldman Sachs tech conference in San Francisco. The Tesla executive’s comments were shared to Insider by an attendee of the event.
When Viecha was asked about the possibility of Tesla making a more affordable EV, the executive stated that the company eventually wants to release a cheaper vehicle on the road. The head of investor relations noted that if Tesla wants to be a high-volume automaker, then it would need a broad portfolio — one that includes a more affordable offering. That being said, the demand for the Model 3 and Model Y has been stronger than expected, so the need for a new vehicle is not that notable for now, according to the executive.
While Elon Musk is evidently all-in on Tesla’s Robotaxi future, it would likely still be a mistake for the company to ignore or neglect the affordable vehicle segment. Companies like Toyota, after all, did not rise to the top by just making premium cars. Apart from this, the affordable EV market is quite important for the global transition to electric cars, as such vehicles are extremely popular in countries where cars like the Model 3 are still out of reach for mainstream buyers.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street analysts expected.
The earnings results come after Tesla reported a massive beat on vehicle deliveries for the second quarter, delivering 489,126 vehicles and building 451,758 cars during the three-month span.
This was a major shock for those on Wall Street as they anticipated somewhere around 400,000 deliveries for the quarter, and showed Tesla still has plenty of demand for its vehicles around the world and in the U.S. despite losing the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year.
Tesla Q2 2026 Earnings Results
- Non-GAAP EPS – $0.33 reported vs. $0.53 expected
- Revenues – $28.236 billion reported vs. $26.4 billion expected
- Free Cash Flow- -$1.092B
- Profit -$ 4.751B
Tesla (beat/missed) analyst expectations, so the market response to the company’s quarter is what we will look for next.
Tesla shares closed today down just over 1 percent, trading at $374.01.
In the past, it has been anyone’s guess with what Tesla shares will do after they report earnings. Strong quarters have resulted in sharp drops, while lackluster quarters have seen the stock shoot up considerably.
Tesla will hold its Q2 2026 Earnings Call in about 90 minutes at 5:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Remarks will be made by CEO Elon Musk and other executives, who will shed some light on the investor questions that we covered earlier this week.
You can stream it below. Additionally, we will be doing our Live Blog on X and Facebook.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call https://t.co/zZS6ii2TWK
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla is about to make parking in busy parking lots at businesses and other points of interest less stressful than ever by allowing drivers more control over where they park and how, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Tesla has been working to improve the parking performance of vehicles utilizing the Full Self-Driving suite, but now it is looking to add more customization, allowing drivers to choose the specific space they park in, but also potentially the orientation the car pulls into the spot:
It’s coming soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2026
Musk has reiterated on X twice over the past several weeks that Tesla is working to make things with the FSD suite based more on the driver’s specific preferences and behaviors that were seen in past drives.
Essentially, it sounds like if you tend to park away from a business to avoid other vehicles, Tesla FSD will soon recognize that preference of yours and start parking further away as well. Additionally, the prospect of assigned parking spaces has been something many owners have voiced concerns about.
Living in a community with assigned parking spaces makes using FSD incredibly difficult as it will rarely park in the correct spot when there are so many to choose from. This is also pertinent in work settings where there are sometimes assigned parking spaces.
The updates to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite in terms of listening to driver preferences with parking are also extending to routing. Tesla announced yesterday that with the release of its 2026 Summer Update, it was adding Automatic Navigation and Preferred Routes:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla has always maintained the idea that any human input is bad input, and that, ideally, Tesla Full Self-Driving will always make the right decision. Of course, this is all in theory, but the issue is that so many of Tesla’s interventions have come because it does something that is not necessarily wrong, but perhaps not what the driver would prefer.
Taking these preferences into account will help Tesla alleviate some of the potentially unnecessary interventions that drivers perform.
Tesla is starting to prepare for the launch of the Optimus robot in its smartphone app, new coding strings show. Elon Musk has referred to Optimus as what will be the greatest-selling product of any kind of all time, and now, Tesla is getting ready for its launch.
Tesla’s smartphone app had several first-time mentions of the Optimus program, according to Tesla App Updates, who intially reported on the appearance. Here’s what they found:
A Dedicated “Robot” Phone Key Authentication
Tesla is working on a Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, authentication that is specifically for robots. This does not only apply to Optimus, though, as Robotaxi, which is Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, might also identify vehicles within the fleet as robots as well.
Tesla shows rapid teardown of Model S and X lines, paving the way for Optimus at Fremont
Essentially, pairing your phone as a key to anything Tesla identifies as a robot to a “whitelist” of authorized devices. Optimus, Robotaxi, or other products that fall into this category will only respond if the device trying to communicate with it is authorized.
This is a great security feature that will eliminate at least face-value and low-level threats.
Home Data Collection and System Alerts
This appears to be somewhat of a neural network for Optimus within your house. There will be a dedicated screen that asks for consent to collect both video and spatial data while Optimus performs in-home tasks. Everything from vacuuming, washing dishes, dusting, and other activities will be tracked.
There will also be a comprehensive alert system that will track everything from low battery to mechanical issues.
Other Changes
Most of the changes tracked in this particular app update are related to Tesla’s 2026 Summer Update, and include things such as image assets for new features, a preview of the new custom wraps feature, and other unique features.
You can check out our coverage on what is included with the 2026 Summer Update here:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla is about to make parking in busy lots less stressful than ever
