Tesla founder Elon Musk has said the automaker is planning to release its $25,000 electric car in 2023 and hinted that it may not have a steering wheel, news website Electrek has tweeted.
© Nachiket Deuskar
Tesla’s $25,000 electric car may not have a steering wheel: Report
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At the Tesla Battery Day in 2020, Musk had announced that the company was making a $25,000 car, which will be “fully autonomous”. The vehicle is often called “Model 2”, though that is not its official name.
Electrek reported that at a meeting, Musk said the company was planning to start production of the cheaper vehicle in 2023.
He also hinted that the car might not come with a steering wheel. Musk linked the new car’s release to Tesla achieving a deployable full self-driving (FSD) system.
“Do we want to have this car come with a steering wheel and pedals?” the Tesla CEO asked employees.
In pics: 22 features that make Tesla cars unlike any others (Slideshow by Business Insider India)
![a screen shot of a video game: All Tesla models are equipped with an autopilot advanced driver assistance system.Newer Tesla models have "8 external cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a powerful onboard computer provide an additional layer of safety," Tesla's website says. Autopilot is meant to be used by drivers who are alert and have their hands on the wheel."Currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous," Tesla says, despite the name.](https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrXoCCkyDNhHEAA4XDQtDMD;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzIEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1630812452/RO=10/RU=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.msn.com%2Fen-in%2Fautos%2Fnews%2Ftesla-s-25-000-electric-car-may-not-have-a-steering-wheel-report%2Far-AAO5JNn/RK=2/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"44","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAMrSzh.img?h=445&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAMrSzh.img?h=348&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAMrSzh.img?h=348&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"}})
Musk was betting on full autonomy for the car, the report added.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.
There is speculation that the $25,000 electric vehicle will be a hatchback manufactured at the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai. In 2020, Tesla had announced plans to build a design studio and R&D center in China.
In the US, Tesla is working on rolling out the latest version of its FSD Beta software. The progress on the FSD software might determine whether the new vehicle has a steering wheel or not.
