See how the Tesla Cybertruck becomes the Tesla Cybercar in this new set of renderings. The car, more a hatchback, mimics the appearance of the Cybertruck, but it's envisioned to be the cheapest Tesla ever made. In fact, cheap is the primary focus. How cheap? The theory is that such a car could be sold for just $25,000.

Well get back to the pricing bit in a moment, but first, let's take a look at the Cybercar's exterior design.

Tesla Cybercar

***Images used with permission from TopSpeed.com

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Cheap but not pretty. That's fine by us provided it truly is affordable. The fine folks over at TopSpeed provided us with an overload of information as to why and how the Cybercar can be so cheap, so let's jump right in.

In condensed form, here are the main highlights:

The Tesla Cybercar Will Be Cheap Before Pretty

Fact: Stainless steel isn’t the cheapest metal to manufacture, but it’s significantly cheaper than aluminum.

While cold-rolled stainless steel panels will help Tesla reduce costs by not using a stamping press, the Cybercar won’t be as pretty as the Model 3 or Model S. That’s because it will look a lot like the Cybertruck...

No Paint Saves Money

Fact: The paint on an average sedan can weigh up to 11 pounds !

This is a simple fact that we tend to ignore. Painting cars is expensive. Not because the paint itself is expensive, but because painting a car requires a paint shop and a lot of time.

Paint can add up to $5,000 and 8-14 pounds.

The Tesla Cybercar Doesn’t Need To Be Fast

A smaller battery means less power and speed, but it also means a shorter range
Mostly a compact car for crowded city streets, the Cybercar doesn’t need to be as wild as all the other models in the Tesla lineup. This means that Tesla can reduce costs by fitting a smaller battery and a one-motor drivetrain. 

Tesla Cybercar Range

The Cybercar will still travel a lot and would need at least 250 miles of range per charge... or will it?

Range is always a much-debated subject. If the ultimate priority is a $25,000 Tesla Cybercar with an emphasis on hitting that price point, we'd be okay with a range of approximately 200 miles. That would mean that the Cybercar would have the lowest range of any Tesla sold today, but it would also be the cheapest Tesla by a wide margin.

Anything less than 200 miles would mean a re-thinking of Supercharger placement (more Superchargers required) and that's not really ideal. It's often easier for Tesla to add stall to existing Superchargers rather than to build all new ones and the current Supercharger placement is largely predicted by the range of its cars.

The question is, would you buy this imagined Tesla Cybercar for $25,000 if it had a range of 200 miles, a single-motor setup and a very simplistic interior? Or would you step up to the Model 3 or some other Tesla instead?

Video description via Topspeed on YouTube:

We created a rendering for a possible Tesla Cybercar, based on the design and architecture of the Cybertruck, but smaller and potentially the cheapest Tesla ever, under $25,000.

How would that be possible?

Exoskeleton manufacturing savings

No Paint

Smallest Tesla battery pack ever

Slowest Tesla ever

No Steering wheel

= Cheapest Tesla Ever = Cybercar

Come and join our discussion with Robert More, editor in chief at TopSpeed.com, about the possible future of a Cybercar and all the potential benefits of making the cheapest tesla vehicle ever.

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