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The Tesla Compact Car: Only Two Falcon Wing Doors, With a Simplified Interior of Only Two Seats - Why This Design Would Accelerate Tesla Production

The upcoming compact car for Tesla could be a two-seater with falcon wing doors, and this would greatly simplify its production. Here's why.

The Tesla Compact Car - With Two Falcon Wing Doors and Two Seats

The Tesla compact car is going to release in the next couple of years and when Tesla announces it, they will reach volume production at a breakneck pace, which will be over 1 million units produced in a year. Tesla can accelerate production by only having two falcon wing doors and two seats inside.

In order for Tesla to get to that volume production so quickly, they are going to use an "unboxing" process, which means putting the car together in separate locations for assembly before the final assembly where everything is put together all at once.

Tesla Unboxing Process

I think Tesla is going to make a compact sedan and a compact SUV. The compact sedan should only have two doors and one row of seats, while the compact SUV should have two doors and two rows of seats.

The Reason having only two doors and one row of seats for the compact sedan makes sense is because it creates a clear separation from the Model 3 and Model Y.

Tesla could have a compact Model Y with a front AND back row of seats, but still only have two doors, while the compact sedan could only have one row of seats for the front, and a trunk area like an Aptera.

Lastly, Tesla could have a back row of seats in the compact sedan that are greatly simplified without any controls, but this will add time and complexity to the vehicle. I don't think Tesla should do it.

You May Also Be Interested In: The Next Generation Tesla Is Going To Be Produced At a Breakneck Pace: At Least Twice As Fast To Make As A Model Y And 5 Million Per Year Or More

Compact Car Production Rate - How Tesla Will Ramp Quickly

The compact car is going to reach a production rate of 2 million units per year from each of Tesla's existing and under construction 4 gigafactories: Giga Texas, Giga Berlin, Giga Shanghai, and Giga Mexico.

It makes me ask, "Does Tesla even need any more gigafactories?" I'll have more to say about this in another article... But the short answer is, I only think they need one more, in India.

Tesla is building such large gigafactories on such large areas of land that I really think there will be 5 total gigafactories in the world - maybe a 6th somewhere in Indonesia...

With the compact car taking up half the footprint of the Model 3 and Model Y, it's going to be quicker to get the car ramping to volume production.

With only having two falcon wing doors that raise, Tesla need only worry about attaching the doors at the top of the car and making sure they fit snug when they close, eliminating complexity with hinging.

Only having two front seats, at the very least, in the compact sedan, will make it much more simplified than a Model 3 and this will cause it not to cannibalize sales as much from the Model 3 because the car will be drastically different. Doing this will also likely decrease the price point below $25,000.

The compact Model Y is a wild car here because it probably needs two rows of seats - but it doesn't need 4 doors. It can also get by with two falcon wing doors. Two falcon wing doors is fewer parts and complexity than 4 regular doors.

The falcon wing doors would create a unique effect for a very inexpensive Tesla and should expose front and back seats when opening, eliminating the need for 4 doors - and Tesla will make sure the doors are controlled electrically through the 48-volt system.

Elon Musk even said about this: "Good design."

These compact cars will utilize a 48-volt architecture, which will also simplify production, and they won't have paint either.

They are going to be extremely simple for Tesla to produce and will have all the hardware and cameras to be fully autonomous.

In Other Tesla News: Tesla is Sandbagging Cybertruck Production as 80+ Cybertrucks Are Ready for Delivery at Giga Texas

What do you think about Tesla making the compact sedan only have two seats in it? Would this reduce cost and increase production rate? Should the compact SUV have two rows of seats?

Share this article with friends and family and on social media - or leave a comment below. You can view my most recent articles here for further reading. I am also on X/Twitter where I post more than just articles daily, as well as LinkedIn! Thank you so much for your support!

Don't miss our coverage about Tesla's upcoming Juniper Model Y secret with a new battery, published at Torque News Youtube channel.

 

Hi! I'm Jeremy Noel Johnson, and I am a Tesla investor and supporter and own a 2022 Model 3 RWD EV and I don't have range anxiety :). I enjoy bringing you breaking Tesla news as well as anything about Tesla or other EV companies I can find, like Aptera. Other interests of mine are AI, Tesla Energy, and the Tesla Bot! You can follow me on X.COM or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow my Tesla and EV news coverage.

Image Credit, Teslaconomics, Screenshot

Comments

H (not verified)    December 26, 2023 - 7:33AM

Those are not falcon wing doors. Those are gullwing doors and you can't open them in a tight parking space. I suppose that you could use summon to move the car in and out of a parking space.

AutoMotive (not verified)    December 26, 2023 - 10:39AM

For a mass market ev under $35000 by the time its produced requires a larger audience with seats for 4. Parents and grandparents would be huge buyers. We have 2 ev now, GTPE and Y both wonderful ev. A smaller ev would be excellent for local tripping.

Nomad (not verified)    December 27, 2023 - 12:41AM

I'm afraid you have this largely backwards. The Tesla gull wing door design for the model x is complicated, expensive, and unreliable. None of these traits are a good fit for a budget car. They very much do not simplify the car, they add considerable complexity.

The model 3 is already so bare bones that the driver doesn't even get instrument gauges, instead the center screen has to do double duty as all driver gauges and as gauges for the climate control system and radio and everything else. If they had to strip it down that badly and it still couldn't be made cheaply enough, I don't think they're going to add something as expensive as gullwing doors to the cheap one.

That's if the cheap one ever materializes. The cybertruck is being sold well above its announced price point.

Christian Gross (not verified)    December 27, 2023 - 5:15PM

First this car is a rip off of the Bricklin SV-1. Snarkily put if one does not study history one is doomed to repeat it. Secondly a two seater has very limited appeal. Why not ask Smart and Mercedes to tell you how it went. Thirdly if even it would be created the cost would be too expensive since falcon doors are expensive. I am a little bit shocked that this mock up is getting traction since it is a silly design.