Tesla considers dedicated European model

Tesla could develop at least one dedicated model for Europe in the planned design centre in Berlin. Elon Musk has already hinted at a possible body shape for the as-yet-unknown new Tesla electric car.

According to Musk, the planned new Tesla model for Europe will probably be a compact car, and possibly in the style of a hatchback. Musk revealed these ambitions at the European Conference on Battery Cell Manufacturing, where the Tesla boss was speaking about the next generation of battery cell technology.

Tesla wants to upgrade the design centre in Germany (and China) with its model. “I think there’s a lot of talent, talented designers and engineers, in Europe. And a lot of the best people, they want to work somewhere where they are doing original design work,” says Musk, “They don’t want to just be doing the European version of something that was designed in California. So, I think it’s important to attract the best talent to do original design.”

Shortly after Musk announced his own design centre for China, a sketch of a previously unknown compact model appeared in January 2020. Since then, there has been no sign of a version of the model that is closer to series production.

Musk suggested that they could make the European Tesla a little more compact, inspired by a personal experience. During one of his visits to Germany and Giga-Berlin, he and his companions were driving in Berlin in a Model X. “It took us quite a while to find a parking space that was big enough,” said the Tesla boss, who has lived in California for years. “In the US, cars tend to be bigger for personal taste reasons and in Europe, it tends to be smaller. If you try to park in dense urban environments, having a car that fits in tight parking spaces is important.”

But Musk did not name an updated schedule for the design centre and the model to be designed there. The exact location in the German capital has not yet been revealed or possibly even decided upon. The only thing that seems clear so far, contrary to earlier rumours, is that the design centre will not come to the Euref Campus in Berlin.

Tesla reaches 500 billion dollars market value

Tesla has reached another critical mark in terms of market capitalisation: At the close of trading on Tuesday evening, each Tesla share was worth 555.38 dollars, bringing the company to a market capitalisation of 527 billion dollars (442 billion euros), thus closing above 500 billion dollars for the first time.

The Tesla share price benefited from the continuing rise after the announcement that the share would be included in the important US stock market index S&P 500 in December. Since then, Tesla has gained 35 per cent in value. Another contributing factor may have been that US stocks were generally boosted when outgoing US President Donald Trump abandoned his blockade stance and said a formal transition should begin for President-elect Joe Biden to take office.

With reporting by Sebastian Schaal, Germany.

electrek.co (EU-Modell), teslamag.de (share price)