Elon Musk
Tesla gives a massive update on its affordable model plans
Tesla’s affordable model won’t have the opportunity to cannibalize sales of the Model 3 and Model Y as the company will wait until Q4 to launch it.
Tesla gave a massive update on its plans to launch a potential lineup of affordable models, something that it has been developing for the past couple of years.
During its Q2 2025 Earnings Call yesterday, Tesla revealed some new details regarding the production plans of the affordable vehicles, and while the company did not shed any light on the potential price, we now have some information on the plans and timing of the cars.
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In the Shareholder Deck released at the time the market closed, Tesla said it successfully completed initial production of the affordable models in the first half of the year, more specifically in June. The company said these vehicles would begin volume production in the second half of this year:
“We continue to expand our vehicle offering, including first builds of a more affordable model in June, with volume production planned for the second half of 2025.”
During the call itself, CEO Elon Musk confirmed these cars would be available starting in Q4. This makes sense as the EV tax credit will not expire until the end of Q3. Launching the affordable models before the tax credit is gone would likely cannibalize sales of Tesla’s current mass market vehicles, meaning the Model 3 and Model Y.
Musk said:
“As we said, we started production in June, and we’re ramping. We probably built some things throughout the quarter, and given that we started in North America and that our goal is to maximize production with higher rates by the end of Q3, we’re going to keep pushing hard on our current models to avoid complexity. Then, fortunately, that rolls away. We’ll be running with the more affordable models available for everyone in Q4.”
The pricing of the affordable models still remains a mystery, and because the term “affordable” is subjective, we truly do not know what to expect. In the past, Musk has stated that the affordable models will cost under $30,000, including the tax credit.
With that being phased out, we are hoping to see a price around the $35,000 mark, especially since the least expensive Tesla, the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel-Drive, is $42,490 before the tax credit.
The affordable models could be Tesla’s key to returning to annual growth, as in the past two years, it has delivered 1.8 million vehicles. The number of vehicle deliveries might not be as important as the company’s focus truly turns to autonomy and Robotaxi, but many investors will still look at this annual delivery figure as a sign of EV adoption and its potential trends moving forward.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Trillionaire Tesla pay package is about influence, not wealth
The 2025 CEO Performance Award, worth up to $900 billion in TSLA stock, could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire,
Elon Musk recently addressed his proposed Tesla 2025 CEO Performance Award on X, highlighting that his concerns are about influence, not personal wealth.
The 2025 CEO Performance Award, worth up to $900 billion in TSLA stock, could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, provided that he hits incredibly ambitious targets for the electric vehicle maker.
Tesla’s ambitious targets
Musk shared his thoughts in a response to an X post that referenced his compensation package. “It’s not about ‘compensation,’ but about me having enough influence over Tesla to ensure safety if we build millions of robots.
“If I can just get kicked out in the future by activist shareholder advisory firms who don’t even own Tesla shares themselves, I’m not comfortable with that future,” Musk wrote in his post.
Tesla’s new performance award would grant Musk shares as the company grows from today’s $1.1 trillion valuation to an incredible $8.5 trillion within a decade. At that level, Tesla would become the world’s largest company by valuation by a notable margin, eclipsing today’s top companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
Massive product goals
Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award will not be easy to accomplish. To earn his award, Musk would have to lead Tesla an operating profit of $400 billion anually, a substantial increase from today’s $17 billion annually.
Musk’s influence would grow alongside Tesla’s valuation, with his stake rising from 13% to about 25%. Tesla’s board emphasized in its filing that retaining Musk is fundamental to hitting these milestones.
The package extends beyond financials, as it also ties compensation to milestones in Tesla’s core products and emerging technologies. These include the delivery of 20 million vehicles cumulatively, 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and the deployment of 1 million robots, and the rollout of 1 million Robotaxis.
Elon Musk
Neuralink is planning to launch US trials translating thoughts into text
The trial could help pave the way for people with speech impairments to communicate more quickly and efficiently.
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, is reportedly planning to start a US clinical trial in October to use its technology to translate thoughts directly into text.
The trial was approved by the FDA under an investigational device exemption, and it could help pave the way for people with speech impairments to communicate more quickly and efficiently.
Thought-to-text technology
The upcoming trial aims to read speech directly from the brain, enabling participants to transmit words without moving their mouths or using a keyboard, as noted in a report from Bloomberg News.
DJ Seo, Neuralink’s president, told an audience at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies in Seoul that the company hopes to demonstrate communication with large language model AI platforms “at the speed of thought,” potentially faster than spoken speech.
“We think that it’s actually possible to demonstrate abilities to speak to the latest AI model, or LLM models, at the speed of thought, even faster than how you’re speaking, and being able to potentially get that information back through your AirPods, effectively closing the loop,” Seo stated.
Production ambitions
Ultimately, Seo described the trial as a stepping stone toward broader human enhancement and consumer-facing applications, beyond the company’s initial focus on medical conditions like ALS, stroke, blindness, and Parkinson’s disease.
While initial implants will focus on patients with severe speech impairments, Neuralink plans to eventually expand to healthy individuals by 2030. The company aims to scale to 20,000 implants per year by 2031.
“We’re currently envisioning a world where, in about 3 to 4 years, there will be someone who’s otherwise healthy who’s going to get a Neuralink. If you’re imagining saying something, we would be able to pick that up,” the executive noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk and Donald Trump reconcile publicly at Charlie Kirk memorial
The reconciliation fulfilled Kirk’s longtime wish for the two men to mend relations.
Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump interacted with each other publicly for the first time since their feud, sharing a handshake and conversation during a memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The reconciliation fulfilled Kirk’s longtime wish for the two men to mend relations, something he had openly discussed prior to his passing.
Kirk’s wishes for Musk and Trump
As noted in a CNN report, Kirk had long positioned himself as an intermediary between Musk and Trump, maintaining close ties with both figures even at the height of their falling out. He highlighted this in a conversation with commentator Megyn Kelly in June. “I know both these guys … I am hopeful, optimistic, and will do everything I possibly can to try and bring this back together,” Kirk said.
Kirk had also spoken highly of both men. On his podcast, he described Musk’s acquisition of Twitter as “the most important purchase since the Louisiana purchase.” He also praised Trump’s MAGA movement.
Kirk reportedly texted Musk frequently, urging him to avoid rhetoric that could harm Trump’s agenda. Musk reportedly was receptive to Kirk’s feedback, despite his announcement that he would be launching a third political party in the United States. His prediction proved accurate when Musk and Trump were sighted side-by-side during his memorial service, where they spoke briefly and shook hands.
Signs of reconciliation
Kirk’s memorial became a symbolic turning point. Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of Kirk’s podcast, posted a photo of Musk and Trump together, noting Kirk’s hope that the two would reconcile “for Charlie.” Musk himself echoed the sentiment, sharing a similar photo with the words “For Charlie,” followed by the White House X account posting the same line later.
Musk has since engaged more positively with Trump on social media, while his America Party PAC shared images of Musk embracing Kirk’s widow, Erika. After her speech calling for forgiveness, Musk posted a passage from the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Kirk had shared his wish for such an outcome in the past. “Knowing both of these men and knowing President Trump much better than Elon, but knowing both of these men, I can tell you I think that there’s going to be a peace treaty moment, a calming down, a moment where both sides come together and we know that we are stronger against the left than we are divided,” Kirk had stated over the summer.
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