Tesla Will Build A $27,000 Car In Germany: Report

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On the day that reviews for the relatively inexpensive Volvo EX30 drop there’s a lot of news from Tesla-land, specifically that the long-rumored cheaper and smaller Tesla model will start production sooner rather than later. Although with Tesla, sooner is an abstract concept.

Also from Tesla-land is a report that the growing unionization drive in Europe is encouraging the company to pay its workers more. Not too far away, Hungary might be getting a BYD plant as the Chinese automaker looks to grow its footprint in Europe.

Here in the States, Lucid has again cut the prices of its cars. And R&T names its first-ever Performance Electric Car of the Year. Huh, looks like this The Morning Dump has gone all electric. Just like Bob Dylan and, I’m sure, equally as popular.

The 25,000 EUR Tesla Cometh

Tesla Investor Day Gigafactorytexas 02
Photo: Tesla

There’s an entire class of small EVs in Europe (and China) that we don’t get that fit into the super-mini category that’s never been super popular here in the United States. Sure, we had the Smart and the iQ/Cygnet, but the fact that we no longer do should tell you something.

Europeans have had all the good options, from Audis A2 to Volkwagen’s UP! and everything in between. This now extends to electric cars, where the very nice Smart EV gets to compete against cars like the Citroën ë-C3. In German prices, the Smart #1 now costs about 37,490 EUR ($40,000), compared to about 23,300 EUR ($25,500) for the Citroën.

These city EVs manage to produce 250+ miles of range on the more city-friendly European WLTP cycle and are starting to use cheaper LFP batteries.

While I think it’s going too far to imply these vehicles present an existential threat to Tesla, the company lacks the product range that Europe desires. A smaller Tesla Model 2 (or whatever they want to call it) is a sensible move because, even though Teslas are still the best value for EVs in America, it’s a more competitive environment elsewhere.

Credit for the news of a 25,000 EUR (roughly $27,000) comes from a Reuters source, but information is scarce:

Tesla (TSLA.O) plans to build a 25,000-euro ($26,838) car at its factory near Berlin, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, in a long-awaited development for the electric vehicle maker which is aiming for mass uptake of its cars.

The source, who declined to be named, did not say when production would begin.

Tesla declined to comment.

Like all Tesla plans, please ingest this news with a grain of salt the size of the Bismark. Also “a source with knowledge of the matter” isn’t exactly authoritative, but it is Reuters, who generally has a good track record when it comes to verifying sources.

Tesla Joins Toyota In Raising Wages For Workers

11 0x0 Gigafactoryshanghai 01
Photo: Tesla

One of the key arguments the United Auto Workers made when carrying out its strike was that, if the union was successful, then other automakers (and businesses) would necessarily have to raise wages.

It’s happened quite quickly, first with Toyota and now, reportedly, with Tesla. It’s well known that the UAW wants to unionize both Toyota and Tesla plants, and European unions are intent on doing the same as both IG Metall in Germany and IF Metall in Sweden have their eyes on the American EV automaker.

Here’s what The Wall Street Journal is reporting after CEO Elon Musk’s visit to the Gigafactory outside of Berlin:

Tesla said Monday that executives had informed workers during a “team huddle” with Musk on Friday that the company would raise wages by 4% effective in November for the around 11,000 employees at the German plant. Tesla will also pay a 1,500 euro bonus, equivalent to about $1,600, in December to offset inflation. That comes on top of an inflation-adjustment bonus of the same size last year, exhausting the legal limit in Germany for tax-free adjustments. Starting in February, Tesla will raise annual wages by an additional €2,500 for workers in production.

Tesla also apparently denied that the raises have anything to do with union pressures and were just part of the normal course of business.

Is BYD Coming To Hungary?

Byd Seal Ev
Photo: BYD

Germany is still the center of car production in Europe, but just as a lot of American cars are built in Mexico and Canada, many German cars are built in places like Hungary and Slovakia.

Both Hungary and Slovakia offer skilled labor, relatively low costs, and are a day’s drive to many of the major population centers in Europe.

That makes the news from German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that Chinese automaker BYD is looking at building a plant in Hungary not a big shocker.

It’s also not a shock given that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is the one member of the EU that’s been super cozy with Russia and China.

From Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung:

Viktor Orbán was a guest in China for two weeks. Hungary’s Prime Minister was received with warm words in Beijing. “We consider you a friend,” President Xi Jinping assured the visitor from Europe . While other EU member states have increasingly distanced themselves from China in recent years, Orbán’s Hungary has maintained and deepened its close relations with the Asian world power.

On his trip to China, Orbán also paid a visit to a rapidly growing model Chinese company: in Shenzhen he was a guest of the BYD car company.

In terms of the EU, Hungary is like that friend who you’re not even sure is really your friend and hangs out with a lot of questionable characters but you keep them close because you know they’d be way way worse if you abandoned them. Hungary is basically the Ben Chang of Europe.

Lucid Drops Costs Again

Lucid Air Gt At Charger

I was a big fan of the Lucid Air Grand Touring I drove this summer, even if the price was a little high. Guess what? The price isn’t that high anymore.

Per Reuters:

Lucid slashed the price of its Air Touring model to $87,500 from $95,000 and the more powerful Grand Touring by $10,000 to $115,600.

The Newark, California-based company also slashed the price of its all-wheel drive Air Pure to $74,900 from $82,400. The price of its latest offering, the rear-wheel drive Air Pure, remains unchanged at $77,400.

You can see all of the company’s autumn offers here. What’s interesting is that the AWD version of the Pure is now cheaper than the RWD version if you qualify for all the incentives.  These are great cars and a nice alternative to the aging Model S and mediocre EQS sedan.

R&T Names First Performance EV Of The Year

2023 Ev6
Photo: KIA

As always when talking about these of-the-year awards I feel that I need to point out that auto outlets, by and large, don’t sell the awards (I’ve never seen much proof that an outlet accepted money to pick a specific winner in spite of rumors).

What actually happens is that, once an award is given, the automaker buys the accolade. Specifically, they buy the right to use the accolade in advertisements and, oh, hey, maybe those ads end up on that publication or on that publication’s sister publications. That’s common pretty much everywhere and it’s not like a company’s ad sales team would ever, say, get mad at the editorial staff because the magazine picked a car that was less friendly to an advertiser that the company was courting…

All that being said, I think the first-ever Road & Track Performance EV of the Year made some good choices. Definitely read the full article for justifications, but I’m relatively onboard with the conclusions.

While there are some interesting omissions (no Lucid Air GT or Polestar 2?), all of the cars are representative of the options out there right now and R&T hints pretty loudly that the magazine was denied access for a comparison from certain manufacturers (it happens).

The Kia EV6 GT as the sub-$100,000 winner sounds right to me. I might prefer the looks of the Hyundai version, but I’ve driven an EV6 GT and was incredibly impressed (I also like the i4 M50 they tested). I’ll let you head over to their article to see which car outclasses the Model S Plaid as the over-$100,000 winner. They’re right about that one, too.

The Big Question

Do you care about Of-The-Year Awards? Are any awards more important to you than any other awards?

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96 thoughts on “Tesla Will Build A $27,000 Car In Germany: Report

  1. Hoo boy, there have been some stinkers that have won car of the year awards. 1997 Motor Trend Car of the Year sightings were (…are?) a running joke in Lemons circles for a while. It’s just…well, here’s the blurb: https://www.motortrend.com/news/1997-chevy-malibu/amp/

    Bless their hearts.

    These awards and comparos are interesting, but I kind of take them with a grain of salt. Which pub is doing them, and are they usually open with their criticism or do they err on the side of not upsetting any shrimp carts? Is there home-country/hometown bias playing a role in their picks? Who’s doing the driving on performance tests? Who’s on the review team? It’s kinda glaring when it’s all dudes who—by default—fit into cars differently than I do, making some of the comments on visibility or ergonomics less relevant to my short, lumpy body, for example.

    Also—the obvious question—do I *enjoy* these folks’ work? The big part in these comparo awards to me is entertainment. Every reviewer has their own biases that are often shaped by what they’re used to in a car or what they personally enjoy the most. The conclusions aren’t always going to line up with mine, so entertain me. I have a finite amount of toilet readin’ time and whatever I open a mag to better be worth it. I’ll just say that the 1971 Volkswagen 411 was robbed regardless of the result anyway.

  2. I’m not sure why people are so worked up over Orban’s Hungary. Isn’t autocracy a basic human right? /s

    Not quite an award, but Shitbox Showdown is all I follow. It’s far more useful to me to know how a car holds up after many years than “this one is shinier than that” when new.

  3. Elon’s had the tech to make a much cheaper car for a while, but the market justification for a low margin city car hasn’t been there. I’d love for every car company to make cheap cars, but I’ll believe it when I see it (in full production).

  4. Honestly, I am kind of surprised Elon has not made an angular but still steel body onto a Model Y or something with just front drive motors and essentially a hot hatch design, cut the number of batteries down and used the Chinese supplied LFP’s. I think Europe would not balk much at an 80’s inspired Golf/Fiesta EV if it managed a bit over 200 miles and was under 25K new.

  5. My big takeaway is I now want to assign cars that best fit the various beloved characters on Community in 2023. My list so far is:

    • Jeff would drive a Model S
    • Britta gets either a Geo Metro or 1st Gen Honda Insight Hybrid
    • Pierce would buy a type of the line Vinfast that would never work and catch fire either at the end of the episode…or three episodes later when he tries to get Jeff to race him
    1. Britta’s Metro doesn’t usually run, but she claims she’s walking because it’s better for the environment.

      Our Level 7 susceptible dean has a different car every season, maybe multiple. Dealerships start running hyperspecific billboards to target him.

      Troy gets a muscle car with a manual, but doesn’t know how to drive stick. Abed studies how to by watching Fast and Furious movies. It goes poorly.

      Shirley has a Chrysler minivan…with a Hellcat. She pretends it’s just a boring minivan until something triggers her competitive nature. Jeff ends up deciding he needs a Hellcat, too, and gets a Challenger he can’t afford and has to live in it for an episode while convincing everyone his place is getting renovated.

      Annie has a Mini she thinks is cute, until Annie Kim gets a Prius and acts like she’s the better person. Then Annie makes the most aerodynamic hypermiling EV anyone’s seen.

      Abed buys a movie car. It is only a shell. He gets it towed around to convince people it runs with no engine. Troy and Pierce believe it. They try to drive it, end up towed to a new location, and believe they drove there.

  6. Tesla will not call it the model 2. The next model will be the model A, or more like delta symbol(ford modelA may cause problems). Every model name after will be as follows

    we already have S3XY:

    A- small car
    S- redesign of the model S

    F- cybertruck redesign/new name
    U- Urban mobility platform (taxis)
    C- Proper crossover with a flat roof
    K- Van

      1. Ok, so maybe the second gen model S will become the SS. However Elon will use the cybertruck style font, and there will be Ss with no curves, just straight lines. He will defend every piece of criticism and imagery related to nazi Germany. This will be the end of all of it. No further reason to speculate on f,u,c,k,3, r.

  7. I take reviews and especially OTY awards with a massive grain of salt. There are some publications I trust more then others. Obviously The Autopian is at the top, but I’d trust Car and Driver over Motor Trend for reasons I mentioned below. The skeleton of The Old Site lost me a long time ago, although I do still skim it every now and then.

    For a long time I’d rely on car YouTube to form a lot of my opinions, but lately a lot of it has gone super corporate. There are still some channels I’d trust my life with…particularly Savagegeese, Throttle House, and The Topher. But a lot of them are more about entertainment than giving you actual facts and things to consider. I don’t mind watching videos from folks like Doug, The Straight Pipes, et cetera, but I don’t use them to formulate my own opinions.

    There are very few channels left that have that honest, down to earth approach that dominated 10 or so years ago, and at the end of the day even the best folks do have biases. As much as I love Savagegeese and RCR their channels are practically JDM propaganda at this point. At the end of the day there isn’t really a substitute for going out and interacting with the cars yourself.

    That being said I do take note of the outliers…basically cars that receive either universal acclaim or scorn. In those cases there’s probably a good reason as to why. But when it comes to figuring out what the 3rd best car in a class is, choosing between the mid tier stuff because you don’t care for the default choice, etc. the best thing to do is go see for yourself.

    The minor differences can be a big deal. My mother in law recently got a new CRV and my father in law got a new RAV 4 a year and a half or so ago. While it’s easy to just say “who gives a shit they’re both excellent appliances” having driven both I can say there are actually massive differences.

  8. Well, if Tesla takes the decision to build a small EV right now, that means they could have a prototype ready for display at Frankfurt by 2027, and maybe have it in pilot production in 2032, with deliveries to non-reservation holders sometime in 2035, by which time ridiculous future inflation will have bumped it up to above where the Model 3 is right now

  9. The most useful part of awards is not the winners, but the finalists. Chances are, the contenders in any category are worth taking a look at, and the winner may not be the one that you or I would consider the best.

  10. Dad owned a 1990 Lincoln Town Car, midnight blue over parchment leather. This fossil chassis and motor (still had a pushrod 302, the 4.6 modular didn’t come till ’91 or ’92) with a new body was the 1990 MT “Car of the Year.”

  11. Do you care about Of-The-Year Awards? Are any awards more important to you than any other awards?”

    Negative. They always seem to go to whatever the newest car or truck in the category is. New F-150 this year? Truck of the Year. New Silverado the following year? Guess who the winner is!

  12. My prediction for the supposed $27k Tesla: they will offer it but maybe only build a few and it will just be a Model 3 single motor with the standard range battery pack with a software limitation to 150 miles or so that can be upgraded to the standard range with a software update the costs roughly the difference in price.

    1. Or, it will be a new model, but the $27,000 one is for the entry-level trim, and the next trim level up is $37,000, and they’ll build a small handful of them, cancel it almost immediately, and offer reservation holders the option of either getting their deposit back or upgrading to the higher level one

  13. looks like this The Morning Dump has gone all electric. Just like Bob Dylan and, I’m sure, equally as popular

    And easier to understand. 🙂

    Do you care about Of-The-Year Awards? Are any awards more important to you than any other awards?

    No; I can’t recall ever changing my opinion of a car because it did/did not receive an award. In general I think awards are there to [try to] sway people who are cross-shopping and don’t know exactly what they want.

  14. Do you care about Of-The-Year Awards? 

    Comparison tests of this type are sometimes interesting compared to singlevehicle test drives because the mask will occasionally slip a bit and relative merits will be discussed with reasonable candor. But overall, no. As long as manufacturers control access to press vehicles and hold all-expenses-paid swanky test drive events in tropical paradises, there can’t be truly honest reviews IMO.

    1. Consumer Reports is the only group that I know of that buys the cars they test to try to avoid maker bias. Of course there is still the issue of maker advertising bias (conscious or unconscious) with which to contend.

      That said personally for a DD I try to base my selection process by research based on what I think are the primary use cases for 90% of the time. I search for reviews online Edmonds and reliability for older versions of the same make/model, search for xyz make/model common problems” to know what I’m getting in to for vehicle maintenance wise.

      So say I want a 2 seat convertable sports car I’m highly likely to buy used do I don’t care what the ‘brand new’ offerings are. And sure Miata is always the answer and yes I’ve driven at least a NA, however miata may not be my answer. Maximum fun and as light as possible, so Lotus Elan (original) or Lotus 23b (if I could figure how to get it to be street legal), or Cateram 7, suzuki capaccino come to mind

  15. Hey guys. You really need to do something about the autoplay videos and ads, you’re completely ignoring our consent, it feels like rape and completely takes the fun out of reading the articles.

    The pause button that is either not pausing, or let the vidéo play again as soon as we swipe, fuck that !!

    1. I hate autoplay videos as much as anyone, but I’m pretty sure no rape victim ever described the experience as “like an autoplay ad on a website”. Let’s keep a little perspective when we’re comparing an annoyance to a life-changing violation of a person.

  16. If Elon was as smart as he thinks he is, he would get an inexpensive long-range Model 2 out ASAP. The demand for an inexpensive, well-built EV with competitive range is certainly there, as is the need for one.

    I’d love to see it weigh under 3,000 lbs and have the best CdA value of any car ever produced(we’re talking something comparable to a GM EV1 or even better). And if any company would be willing to produce a car like that, it would be Tesla. Now imagine a relatively inexpensive “PLAID” version of such a car, and all of the apple carts THAT would kick over…

    1. According to the book he balked at the idea of a more affordable car because he wants his team to crack FSD so they can produce the “Robotaxi” with no steering wheel or pedals. In his opinion folks that would buy a cheap EV would rather have an automated car just zip them here and there. I don’t share that opinion, a 2door hot-hatch EV in the 30-40K range with a steering wheel and pedals would get my money.

      1. His opinion is definitely out of touch.

        If someone made an EV that was simple, repairable with basic tools, inexpensive to purchase, efficient, American-made, and had a lot of muscle to go with it, I think the working class and redneck America would start warming up to EVs rather than being overtly hostile to them. Perhaps not right away, but over time.

        As they are today, they’re a horror show to this demographic as they are a representation of those particular dystopian elements of modern society that they are opposed to, and self-driving cars, even moreso.

  17. While I find the OTY awards interesting, some are absolutely worthless these days. Seriously, Motor Trend just gave the Blazer EV its 2024 SUV Of the Year. A car that may not even go on sale in the year 2024 because GM keeps shifting EV strategies. Seriously, Blazer EV is already 6+ months behind original ship date. It’s “tests” and “Awards” like these that are so obviously purchased by manufacturers to drum up hype and marketing material that drive me insane. Thank you Autopian staff for having journalistic integrity, it’s a shame that its hard to come by these days.

      1. Oh wow I didn’t realize they were actually available in the wild in much of any capacity! I do still find it awfully hard to believe that of all the new EVs and SUVs out there that the Blazer EV was truly THE BEST of the lot with a 52k starting MSRP and only 280 miles of range

        1. That’s perfectly fair, and very reasonable. I don’t have much interest in something that wide, but I have looked into it a little and it seems alright, but not particularly impressive to me.

          NACTOY gave the EV6 SUV of the Year at one point, and it’s really more of a wagon than anything. At least they picked an SUV (I am giving them a really low bar, and I’m still sure they’ll still find a way to limbo under it soon).

          1. I think the EV6 or Ioniq 5 can at least justify their awards somewhat due to being available in the low 40s before incentives and having an 800V architecture to give you more flexibility with charging. Granted the US charging network for non-Telsa’s is still awful, but sub-20 minute 10-80% is still far more impressive than what any Ultium-based EV can manage.

            1. Oh, I really like the EV6 and stablemates, but I take issue with it being called an SUV. It is certainly a wagon. I’m still tempted to buy one, but it doesn’t have ground clearance, high seating position, or anything else that we think of with SUVs.

    1. Motor Trend was great 15-20 years ago but they’ve lost most of their credibility recently. The awards have gotten a little silly and their EV coverage is relentlessly rosy/doesn’t really adequately discuss the compromises that these vehicles come with. Their annual awards pretty much all go to the newest EV offering in the class at this point by default.

      1. Yeah that really seems to be the case. As Drew pointed out the Blazer EV is actually on sale, but it seems like an absolutely terrible value proposition at 52k+ for a ~300hp, 280mi range, for something the size of an Equinox (which starts at 27k). I like EVs and want to see them improve and succeed in time, but the current crop of 1st gen EVs we have available right now are terrible values, and its a shame to see MT shilling these things. Their article genuinely tries to make the B-EV a good value while pointing out the Model Y starts at over 10k less, and the Ioniq 5 at nearly 15k less.

        1. They’re terrible values, they’re terrible investments that will harm consumers’ finances, the list is long. I am similarly pro EV and am excited to see the technology grow and evolve, but the risks need to be discussed more than they are a lot of the time.

          Ford is a great example. Imagine how the folks who sprinted out to finance $60,000 Mach Es two years ago are feeling after the piles of recalls and depreciation right now. You’re already seeing used ones in the high 20s. Or how the person who bought a well equipped Model 3 at the same time is feeling now that they’ve slashed prices several times.

          If I were them I’d be pretty mad at all the folks who oversold first gen EVs.

          1. I absolutely agree, and its especially true when you factor in the marketing hype of “lower maintenance and electricity is cheaper than gas, this car will SAVE you money” but the far steeper depreciation curves end up biting you long term. Like you mentioned way up above, I also love Savagegeese because they take a much more in depth look at total vehicle lifecycle, and these 1st Gen EVs are just not worth it right now. That said, a used Mach-E in the 20s would actually be pretty compelling if they get the contactors fixed, but most current new EVs are just not worth it.

            This is the exact problem which is why it’s such a shame to see the Bolt go out of sale, because it was a legitimately good value, while not necessarily the best EV possible, for a cheap daily for around town, especially on a lease deal, it was solid. At leas the Volvo EX30 seems to be trying to take up that torch, but to replace that with a 60k car with a 6-second 0-60 and under 300 mile range is laughable when so many better options exist.

      2. I regret to inform you that it is probably you thinking of 15-20 year old Motor Trend through rosy colored glasses. I know this, because I did the same. All car mags are cool when you’re a budding enthusiast.

        EVs aside, they were basically the same back then. Unless you think the Thunderbird really was the best new car offered in 2002.

        1. Let me fondly remember sitting on the toilet for 30 minutes reading about the Saleen S7 in Motor Trend when I was 12 for a couple minutes, okay?!?!

            1. I love both the S7 and the Mossler MT900 from that era. I’m not entirely convinced that either were ever sold to actual human beings but there’s something about the way they were thrown together by not-quite car companies as parts bin zombies to chase records that was so uniquely American.

              That being said I have seen an S7 listed for sale on cars dot com before. It was in Cleveland (??) and I want to say they were asking $800,000 for it.

              1. I’m older than you, so I remain obsessed with the Vector W8 for basically the same reason.

                Somehow it was included in a hardcover book about exotic cars I got as a young kid as a serious vehicle alongside Aston Martins, F40s, Lamborghinis, 911 Turbos, etc. Ridiculous in hindsight, but awesome to young V10.

                1. My first car book had the Vector W2 in it. Had some other legends, too: 288 GTO, 959, RS2000, and—weirdly enough—the Buick Wildcat concept, though I suppose the W2 wasn’t a production car, either.

                  1. I love all these weird, limited-run supercars. I guess I enjoy reading about stuff I’ve never seen before, or only know a little about. Pump it straight into my veins.

  18. I’ll let you head over to their article to see which car outclasses the Model S Plain

    I know it’s a typo, but it’s fun to think of a “Plain” version being a contender.

    1. It does look a lot like a generic stand-in car to me ever since it ditched the vestigial grille. You know—for when you need a car, but can’t/won’t license any company’s specific design IP. It’s still a nice shape, but it’s been left with even less defining visual features. Every Tesla looking like shrunken or puffed-up versions of the plained-down Model S doesn’t help. I’ve started referring to them as the generic NPC cars of MoPac.

      1. Willy’s been at it so long that he could have stopped years ago and remained high on whatever residual was in his system. Not ragging on Snoop; Willy just had a head start.

  19. Like all Tesla plans, please ingest this news with a grain of salt the size of the Bismark”
    There isn’t enough salt on all of Avery Island to make a grain big enough.

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