ClaimsElon Musk

““We're very far along on our next-generation low-cost vehicle,” Musk said in the fourth quarter earnings call in January.”

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, on Q4 earnings call January 2024 Elon Musk Touts Tesla Master Plan: Model 2 Takes Back Seat To Autonomy (Forbes)

Factual Their own work or organisation

Tesla is very far along on its next-generation low-cost vehicle, as of the January 2024 earnings call.

Mixed Partly true and partly false in roughly equal measure.

Factual: Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?

The second judge said mostly true; the verdict shown is the first judge's.

Said for an organisation they lead or work for; it counts on both records.

What would count as true or false

Factual claim as of January 2024 that Tesla was 'very far along' on its next-generation low-cost vehicle. Judge on the state of development at the time, using contemporaneous or later-revealed evidence of that state. True: evidence shows advanced development in January 2024 (a design largely finished, production tooling or lines being planned or underway, a launch timeline of roughly 2025). Mostly true: substantial progress, though some key elements were less mature than implied. Mixed: development was underway, but mid-stage. Mostly false: the evidence shows early-stage work, or that the program was being deprioritized or cancelled around then (e.g. the April 2024 Reuters report on shelving a dedicated $25k car), so the claim overstated progress. False: there was no real development program then.

Set before the research began.

Evidence (3)

  1. E1 Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) Q4 FY2023 Earnings Call Transcript - January 24, 2024 roic.ai · 24 January 2024 Own record

    “But our current schedule shows that we will start production towards the end of 2025. So sometime in the second half.”
  2. E2 Tesla's next-generation platform could mean 'notably' lower growth rate in 2024 Teslarati · 24 January 2024

    “Reports today indicated Tesla is already in the process of preparing for the production of its next-generation vehicle. Reuters said that Tesla is already reaching out to suppliers to begin production of the next-gen vehicle in mid-2025.”
  3. E3 Report: $25,000 Tesla Model 2 project nixed in favor of robotaxis Green Car Reports · 5 April 2024

    “According to a report Friday morning from Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the matter, the company has ceased plans to build a $25,000 Tesla that would slot below the Model 3 and Model Y in the lineup.”

Reasoning

E3, an independent report from January 24, 2024 citing Reuters, says Tesla was already contacting suppliers to begin producing the next-generation vehicle in mid-2025. That fits advanced development. On the same day, Tesla's own earnings call (E2) put the start of production in the second half of 2025. However, E4 reports that in April 2024, according to Reuters, Tesla dropped its plans for the $25,000 car. The resolution criteria name this as a sign that the program was being deprioritized around that time and that the claim overstated progress. Because the evidence points both ways and does not show how mature the design was, the claim is rated mixed.

Cite this claim

Elon Musk, “Tesla is very far along on its next-generation low-cost vehicle, as of the January 2024 earnings call.” (said January 2024). Verdict: mixed. Reliability API, claim c_7247cd9f65f9, method 0.1.0+c876030c, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_7247cd9f65f9

This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.

Reply to this claim

For Elon Musk, or someone speaking for them: a correction or counter-evidence. Replies are read before anything is shown; an approved reply shows your name, role, date, statement and link. Your email address is never shown and is deleted 30 days after the decision (privacy).

More factual claims by Elon Musk

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  2. Mostly false Factual 28 January 2026
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    As of January 2026, Tesla operates cars in Austin with no one inside, no safety monitor and no follow car.

  3. Resolved true Factual 28 January 2026
    “So I have updated the Tesla, Inc. mission to amazing abundance, and this is intended to send a message of optimism about the future.”

    Musk has updated Tesla's mission to "amazing abundance".

  4. Mostly false Factual 31 December 2024
    “𝕏 is the number 1 source of news on Earth.”

    X is the number 1 source of news on Earth.

  5. Mostly false Factual 30 December 2024
    “Remember when almost every legacy media outlet lied that Biden was “sharp as a tack” right before the Presidential debate where it was obvious he had dementia?”

    Musk said almost every legacy media outlet knowingly falsely described Biden as "sharp as a tack" just before the 2024 presidential debate, at a time when, he said, it was obvious Biden had dementia.

All of them

Verdicts are made automatically; how verdicts are made.