Tesla is undergoing some big changes, and now we know why: The company says it's upping its product roadmap due to “pressure” on EV sales.

The new and faster plan now includes “more affordable models” that the company claims will be launched next year. Or if Tesla CEO Elon Musk is to be believed — and that's a big bet considering his track record with timelines — possibly as late as 2024.

The shock announcement sent the company's stock up more than 11 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday. And the price didn't drop even as Musk and other Tesla executives declined to share more details on the call with investors.

It all comes after one. Bomb report from Reuters in early April that claimed Tesla had abandoned work on a low-cost next-generation car. This next-generation car was intended to be built on the same EV platform that Tesla is developing for its purported robotaxis vehicle. Tesla had said that the next-generation car could arrive by late 2025.

While Musk bluntly claimed that Reuters was both “lying” Electric And Bloomberg News It has since been reported that development of this particular EV has been delayed or de-emphasized within the company. Musk has since posted on social media site X that Tesla will reveal the Robotxy on August 8.

Tesla provided an update to its minimal Star. First quarter earnings reportwhich showed a 55% year-on-year decline in profits. The company said in the report that it has updated (its) future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously announced production start in the second half of 2025. The company said the slate of new vehicles includes “more affordable models”.

These new offerings aren't being pulled out of whole cloth, though. Tesla says it will build these vehicles on existing production lines and that they will use aspects of the next-generation platform it is developing, as well as aspects of our current platforms.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Tesla is in the works. New versions of the Model Y and Model 3 Which borrowed technology and processes from the next-generation EV, with an emphasis on the Model Y.

Tesla investors will have to wait to learn more.

On a call with investors, Musk answered a question about what Tesla's new product roadmap actually entails. “We'll talk about that on August 8,” he said, adding that Tesla plans to unveil its robotaxy, which it calls the “CyberCab.”

When asked a similar question after the call, Musk said, “I think we've said everything we're going to do on that front.”

Tesla VP Lars Moravi said there is “some risk” associated with the new platform, and that Tesla could leverage “all the subsystems” it develops, such as powertrains, drive units, Also manufacturing and automation, thermal system improvements, seating,” and more. “It's all transferable, and that's what we're doing — trying to get it into new products as quickly as possible,” he said. “That engineering work — we're not just trying to throw it away and put it in a coffin,” he said.

Cost versus growth

Tesla has worked to reduce the cost of manufacturing the next-generation EV by 50 percent compared to the platform that underpins the Model 3 and Model Y.

The company acknowledged Tuesday that by moving to a strategy of combining next-generation technology and processes with existing platforms and manufacturing lines, it will lose some of those cost savings.

The upside, according to Tesla, is progress. The company claims it can double 2023 production (which was around 1.8 million vehicles) by 2025. And while it won't save as much on the cost of cars, it won't require new production lines to make it mysterious. New vehicles. The company has already slowed work on a new factory in Mexico, where it originally planned to start building next-generation EVs and robotaxis.

Of course, Tesla has said for years that it expects to hit 50 percent annual growth, averaged over a few years, and has consistently missed that goal. As the company warns, it will grow at a “significantly low” rate this year.

There are other challenges as well. Tesla is claiming it can launch this new product lineup after laying off a large number of employees from its global workforce — though Musk said Tuesday that the company “isn't giving up anything important.” I know about.”

“We've had a long period of prosperity since 2019,” Musk said on the call. “We've made some improvements along the way, but it's time to realign the company for the next phase of growth.” “