An electric four door estate makes tonnes of sense in the EU. The estate in the EU is an important car package, it's a family work horse.
> In addition to keeping the cost of R&D and production low, Tesla wants to ensure the compact EV is easy to manufacture.
It's simple and other manufacturers have done it for years. Just use standard parts where possible. Stop designing custom headlights, glass, wheels, etc, etc.
I would also advise to Tesla to build an even lower cost model, perhaps with the following specs:
* 2 seats and some space for shopping/luggage
* Half range (~200 miles or so), shorter charging time
* Lightweight, smaller motors, inverters, etc
* Repairable (keeps the cost down in the second hand market), use off-the-self components where possible
They could call it "Tesla Model # Lite". The market would be people who drive to local towns, etc, and back. If I were them I would sub-contract an existing manufacturer to build it too.
Despite smaller dimensions, the Biro Big [1] (review at [2]) is faster at 60kph and has a longer range at 100km. Unfortunately, it's nearly twice as expensive as the Ami...
> In addition to keeping the cost of R&D and production low, Tesla wants to ensure the compact EV is easy to manufacture.
It's simple and other manufacturers have done it for years. Just use standard parts where possible. Stop designing custom headlights, glass, wheels, etc, etc.
I would also advise to Tesla to build an even lower cost model, perhaps with the following specs:
* 2 seats and some space for shopping/luggage
* Half range (~200 miles or so), shorter charging time
* Lightweight, smaller motors, inverters, etc
* Repairable (keeps the cost down in the second hand market), use off-the-self components where possible
They could call it "Tesla Model # Lite". The market would be people who drive to local towns, etc, and back. If I were them I would sub-contract an existing manufacturer to build it too.