Elon Musk Dunks On Reuters Report That Tesla Scrapped Its Plan For A Cheap Car

Reuters thought it had a big ol' scoop when it published an exclusive story claiming that Tesla had axed plans to develop a more affordable car.

Unfortunately for Reuters, Elon Musk — a man who probably knows a thing or two about the goings-on at Tesla — promptly shut the news outlet down with a single post.

The piece in question is titled "Exclusive: Tesla Scraps Low-Cost Car Plans Amid Fierce Chinese EV Competition" and features a byline for three different reporters: Hyunjoo Jin, Norihiko Shirouzu, and Ben Klayman.

Alright, that's a lot of journalistic firepower. How could this one backfire?!

The article claimed that due to increasing competition from China, Musk's Tesla had decided to put plans for a car that would retail at around $25,000 — informally known as the Model 2 — on hold.

This has been a long time coming as the cheapest Tesla currently on the market is in the $30,000s.

Not long after that Reuters report hit the wire, Musk hopped on X and set the record straight with just a few words.

Welp… there goes that scoop.

As Reuters touched on in its face-saving follow-up article in which it acknowledged that Musk shot down its previous report, sales are down for the electric car giant. That's not news.

However, what Reuters claimed in the original article makes less and less sense the more I think about it.

But then doesn't it make sense to try rolling out a more affordable car? Especially when price is one of the big hang-ups people have about adopting EVs.

Sure, Chinese companies might be providing some competition, but don't you think a reasonably priced Tesla would outsell a Chinese EV based on brand recognition? 

I certainly do, especially when customers unfamiliar with the different brands go to buy an EV. I've heard people call all EVs Teslas like how they say all ice resurfaces are Zambonis.

It sure looks like Reuters either got some bad intel or got caught with its pants down around its ankles in a bid to smear Musk. 

Unfortunately, for Reuters — but fortunately for those of us who don't care to be lied to by the media — Musk set the record straight.