When Reuters reported in April that Tesla had scrapped plans for a long-promised, next-generation $25,000 electric vehicle, the automaker’s stock plunged. Chief Executive Elon Musk rushed to respond on X, his social-media network.

“Reuters is lying,” he posted, without elaborating. Tesla’s stock recovered some of its losses.

Six months later, Musk appears to have backed into an admission that Tesla dropped its plans for a human-driven $25,000 car. He said in an Oct. 23 earnings call that building the affordable EV would be "pointless” unless the car was fully autonomous.

    • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
      5·
      24 days ago

      Sure, when that rationalization comes with lax environmental regulations and zero worker protections along with heavy subsidies that expire just after their last competitors close up shop. What are you left with then?

      • Grimy@lemmy.world
        3·
        24 days ago

        It’s better to keep private companies in charge of environmental regulations and worker protection, they will self-regulate.

        God knows they won’t mouth fuck us the moment they have a monopoly at least.

        • CmdrShepard42@lemm.ee
          1·
          24 days ago

          Where is that the case? Dumping toxic shit into the water/air and using slave labor is one of the reasons why they can sell their cars so cheaply. This person is trying to claim it’s due to rationalization alone.