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Another Tesla executive chimes in on $25,000 car cancellation claims

Credit: BLKMDL3 | X

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Another Tesla executive has responded to recent reports that the $25,000 mass-market vehicle is no longer being planned, following CEO Elon Musk’s denial of the claims.

Last week, Reuters reported that sources had told it that Tesla was canceling plans for its $25,000 electric vehicle (EV). Musk went on to deny the reports, literally saying that “Reuters is lying (again),” with he and Tesla later announcing plans to unveil the upcoming robotaxi on August 8, 2024. The move has caused many shareholders and Tesla enthusiasts to speculate that both the robotaxi and the $25,000 EV could be built on the same platform, to which Musk responded on X with the “eyes” emoji, suggesting that it could be a good take.

On Sunday, Tesla’s Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen also responded to claims about the affordable mass-market EV, as posted in a video from X user BLKMDL3. The video, which was taken during a panel discussion between von Holzhausen, Ben from Unplugged Tesla, and Russell from Michelin at the Petersen Auto Museum, depicts one reporter asking about what’s happening with the $25,000 car, whether canceled, delayed, or otherwise.

Tesla’s $25,000 car to be built at Giga Texas, then Giga Mexico: Elon Musk

While von Holzhausen didn’t respond as directly as Musk’s response, he was also quick to cast doubt on the Reuters report in question.

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“I would just stay tuned,” von Holzhausen said during the discussion. “Just don’t always believe what you read.”

The original Reuters report alleged that the publication had looked at messages from Tesla to suppliers about the project, along with claims that it saw a message from a manager at Tesla who specifically wrote about the cancellation of the $25,000 EV. The news also comes as Tesla has been rolling out its long-awaited Full Self-Driving v12 to customers after it was touted by Musk and others last year as a key part of unlocking the puzzle of autonomy.

In addition to the FSD fleet surpassing one billion miles last week, the software has also transitioned from being called a “beta” to now being dubbed “FSD (Supervised),” after Musk said last year that v12 would drop the beta moniker. A leaked email from Musk also mandated that Tesla workers require FSD demo drives with deliveries, and the company is now offering one-month free trials of the software.

Tesla will hold its Q1 2024 earnings call on April 23, after the company announced its EV production and delivery numbers for the quarter last week.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla Careers website is hinting at preparations for a monster Q3 and Q4

Tesla has gone live with several dozen openings for Delivery Vehicle Prep specialists on its Careers website.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla seems to be preparing for a monster Q3 and Q4 2025. This was, at least, hinted at by some job openings that have been observed by industry watchers in Tesla’s Careers website.

Job listing trends

As observed by avid Tesla watchers on social media, the electric vehicle maker has gone live with several dozen openings for Delivery Vehicle Prep specialists on its Careers website. In North America alone, about 69 job openings for the position have been listed by the company. 

The role of a Delivery Vehicle Prep specialist is notable, as they help with vehicle preparation, vehicle inspections, effective lot management, and active collaboration with your team to enhance pre-delivery processes. Considering that the position ensures that cars are handed over to customers in the best way possible, it seems futile for Tesla to ramp up its hiring for the post if it is not expecting large volumes of deliveries in the coming months.

Increasing demand

Tesla’s vehicle sales in the first and second quarters of the year have been quite throttled due to a variety of factors, from the changeover to the Model Y in the Fremont Factory, Gigafactory Shanghai, Gigafactory Berlin, and Gigafactory Texas, to the rise of anti-Tesla sentiment due to CEO Elon Musk’s political activities earlier this year. These factors are no longer affecting Tesla this Q3, and the company tends to deliver a notable amount of its vehicles in the fourth quarter. 

With this in mind, it would appear that Tesla is indeed preparing for a massive uptick in its vehicle deliveries for the remaining months of the year. The company, after all, would likely be quite busy, especially with the upcoming introduction of the new Model 3 Performance and the rollout of Tesla China’s recently unveiled Model Y L. Expectations are also high that Tesla is preparing to roll out more affordable variants of its vehicles later this year.

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Tesla Cybertruck officially launches in Korea

New orders for the Cybertruck will start on September 5, 2025. 

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Credit: Tesla Cybertruck/X

The Tesla Cybertruck is being launched in South Korea. The arrival of the all-electric pickup truck in the country was announced by the electric vehicle maker in a blog post and on social media.

Tesla Cybertruck launch

As per Tesla Korea, those who have reserved the Cybertruck could log into their Tesla account to confirm their order. Customers could confirm their orders from August 29, 2025 to September 4, 2025. New orders for the Cybertruck will start on September 5, 2025. 

Tesla Korea noted that if existing reservation holders do not confirm their orders within August 29 to September 5, their existing reservation date will not be recognized. A downpayment of the Cybertruck in South Korea would be 20 million won. ($14,300).

Potential demand

As noted in a report from the Chosun Biz, the Cybertruck has recorded a high pre-order rate in South Korea since the vehicle was initially unveiled in late 2019. Two variants of the Cybertruck will be made available in South Korea, the Cybertruck AWD and the Cyberbeast. The vehicles will be sold at 145 million won ($104,000) and 160 million won ($114,500), respectively.

The Cybertruck is arguably Tesla’s most advanced vehicle today, thanks to its use of systems like steer-by-wire, which allows even large vehicles like the all-electric pickup truck to be capable of being driven without much issue, even in tight spaces. The vehicle is also built with stainless steel, making it one of the toughest pickup trucks in the market.

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SpaceX calls off Starship 10 flight attempt once again

SpaceX is calling off a potential launch of Starship this evening, marking the second consecutive night the tenth test flight of the massive rocket will be delayed.

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX is calling off a potential launch of Starship this evening, marking the second consecutive night the tenth test flight of the massive rocket will be delayed.

Originally planning to launch on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas, SpaceX was forced to delay the tenth launch of Starship due to a hardware issue.

“Ground side liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed. Aiming for another launch attempt tomorrow,” CEO Elon Musk posted on the social media platform X.

Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch

The launch was then pushed to Monday night, and the launch window was set to start at the same time as Sunday. However, SpaceX would push it back to 6:44 p.m. due to some weather issues.

Eventually, Starship seemed like it was trending toward a launch, but weather continued to persist in the area, with thunder, rain, and lightning all threatening in the area.

At around 7:03 p.m., SpaceX decided to stand down once again, confirming weather was the culprit of yet another delay:

SpaceX will likely try again on Tuesday night, but the company has not yet confirmed if it will open another launch window.

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