Calculating to sell cheap electric cars since 2006, Elon Musk fell into the “on the anvil under the hammer” position after 17 years: He just couldn’t come up with any cheap cars, he had to fight with BMW and Mercedes.

Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will sell low-cost electric cars starting in 2006. These models were finally announced in March, but details have not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, many of Tesla’s competitors, including Volkswagen and General Motors, didn’t sit around waiting to see what the billionaire would do. They quickly planned to successfully produce electric cars that cost less than $30,000, according to Forbes.

On March 15, European car giant Volkswagen said it would offer a compact electric hatchback model ID. 2ALL for 25,000 euros ($26,400) and nine other new electric models in 2026. GM is also adding an electric version of the Chevrolet Equinox this year starting at $30,000 after the success of the Bolt, a selling model. best in the US in the price segment under 30,000 USD.

For comparison, currently the cheapest Tesla – the Model 3 sedan – is being sold for $43,000 (excluding tax). Not to mention it’s already been slashed thousands of dollars off list price to qualify for the new federal tax credit.

Ed Kim, president of auto industry research firm AutoPacific, said Tesla doesn’t have a relatively cheap electric vehicle yet. This is not a big deal, but such models can help Tesla expand the market.

“We are now at a turning point when electric vehicles account for about 6% of the market share. More and more people are starting to think about buying more electric cars,” Kim told Forbes. “However, the average price of an EV is out of reach for many people… Automakers need to introduce more affordable models to make it accessible to the middle class. So far, the market has not had many choices.”

With an average selling price of more than $65,000, Tesla is expected to compete with BMW and Mercedes instead of Honda or Ford.

Tesla is trying hard to popularize electric vehicles, and says it will launch more than 1.3 million units worldwide by 2022. However, with an average selling price of more than $65,000, these models are is expected to have to compete with luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes instead of Honda or Ford.

The Biden administration wants electric vehicles to account for 50% of all new car sales by the end of the decade, while many states aim to stop selling gas cars by 2035. Both goals are unlikely to be achieved, except when electric cars are cheaper.

In its announcement, VW did not disclose the exact time of selling ID.2ALL. Only know this model can run about 434km after each full charge.

According to experts, it is not easy to produce cheap electric vehicles because lithium-ion batteries require many expensive materials, such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. Recently, Tesla outlined a plan to reduce vehicle production costs by up to 50% thanks to effective new techniques that help refine the design as well as the cost of raw materials. Musk suggested that the next-generation Tesla model could benefit from this new approach, but the exact price was not disclosed.

Currently, Tesla does not deliver the low-cost electric car as promised in the first “Master Plan” in August 2006, but this should not affect too much consumer demand. The company is also not worried when GM and Volkswagen are faster in developing low-cost cars.

Earlier, Tesla held a shareholder meeting led by billionaire Elon Musk. The four-hour presentation didn’t win much at the time, despite emphasizing Tesla’s future vision around sustainable energy products.

Elon Musk quietly watched the opponent ‘surpass’ despite planning since…2006: Unable to launch a cheap car model, forced to compete with luxury brands

According to Bloomberg, there is an opinion that Elon Musk’s “The Third Master Plan” has failed. They said the most valuable electric car company in the US did not provide any details about the next generation of electric vehicles – which is already highly anticipated.

“The Earth will transition to a sustainable energy economy. And it will happen in your lifetime,” Musk began.

Instead, Musk talked about the Cybertruck, the autopilot problem, and the improvements coming to them. These are described by BI as “frivolous” because many people only expect Tesla to launch more affordable versions of electric cars. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, was also present, but only answered the very vague question: “We’ll go as fast as we can.”

Thus, low-cost electric cars – the “holy grail” in the process of making Tesla a leader in the process of global electrification is still quite elusive. The promise of an affordable vehicle has so far lasted nearly 17 years since the first Master Plan was revealed.

Reportedly, the Master Plan first laid out Tesla’s go-to-market strategy to build an electric sports car, followed by a series of more affordable cars.

In fact, affordable electric vehicles – what Tesla calls a “next-generation platform” could ease the two pressures Tesla is facing. The first is to meet consumer demand for a low-cost clean energy vehicle. The second is to successfully convince Wall Street investors to ramp up production. Low-cost electric vehicles have also helped make Tesla a truly global phenomenon, according to BI.

By: Forbes, BI