Tesla Model A electric car: what we know so far

The Tesla Model A could be the smallest and cheapest electric car in the US brand's line-up.  

We say 'could' because there's been no official confirmation from Tesla about the existence of a Model A. However, there has been plenty of speculation that a more compact car is being worked on behind the scenes, fuelled by comments by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Last year, the news agency Bloomberg quoted him as saying: "In Europe, it would make sense to do a compact car." Meanwhile, at an earlier conference, Musk told investors: "The thing that bugs me the most about where we are right now is that our cars aren’t affordable enough. It would be reasonable to assume that we would make a compact vehicle of some kind and probably a higher-capacity vehicle.”

This suggests that Tesla is considering an electric family hatchback to rival the Volkswagen ID.3. It's believed that to keep costs down this new entry-level model could be a reworked version of the existing Tesla Model 3 saloon with reduced performance.

Then again, back in 2018, Musk tweeted: 'We’re working on a new Tesla mini-car that can squeeze in an adult'.

Although vague, that suggests a Citroën Ami or Smart Fortwo-sized urban runaround could in the making. The Fortwo is well priced by electric car standards but suffers from a bumpy ride and a poor range between charges. Meanwhile, the even smaller Ami is incredibly cheap by new car standards, but has a top speed of just 28mph.

As it stands, the smallest and cheapest car Tesla makes is the Model 3. That's a 4.7-metre-long saloon that starts at around £50,000.

Above it sits the closely related Tesla Model Y, which in turn sits below the enormous (and hugely expensive) Tesla Model S saloon and Tesla Model X SUV.

It's clear, then, that there's a gaping hole in Tesla's model range for a smaller and cheaper electric car.

However, if the Tesla Model A does become a reality, it's likely to be at least three years away from production. That's because US brand has already confirmed that it's working on a ludicrously fast electric sports car called the Tesla Roadster (above), plus an electric pick-up truck called the Tesla Cybertruck. Both of these cars have been beset by delays and are currently slated for launches in 2023.

We'll let you know as soon as we have more information about the Tesla Model A.

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