After Tesla's Q2 2025 earnings call, Elon Musk's comment that the new affordable model is "a Model Y" sent shockwaves through the community, leading to frustration and confusion. Many now believe Tesla's next big vehicle is just a cheaper, stripped-down trim of the current Model Y.

In this video, I'll break down why I believe that's wrong.

I'll argue that Tesla isn't just removing features from the Model Y. Instead, they are launching a new model on the same platform: a shorter wheelbase Model Y. This move, combined with the recently revealed longer "Model Y L" in China, points to a brilliant 3-tier product strategy, much like Apple's iPhone lineup (Standard, Pro, Pro Max).

Join me as I connect the dots and explain my theory on the "Model Y S" (Short), how Tesla can make it significantly cheaper, and why this is a genius move to maximize their existing production lines, expand their market, and navigate the end of the US federal tax credit.

Topics Covered in this Video:

- Elon Musk's controversial Q2 earnings call comment.

- The flaw in the "cheaper trim" argument.

- My Theory: The Model Y S (Short), Model Y (Standard), and Model Y L (Long).

- Evidence from the new 6-seater Model Y L in China.

- How Tesla can reduce the price by $6,000 - $8,000.

- Addressing headwinds: The expiring tax credit vs. the increasing demand from FSD improvements.

- Tesla's long-term manufacturing and platform strategy.

What are your thoughts on Tesla's upcoming affordable model? Let me know in the comments below!

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NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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In this video, I break down why I think I'll be able to use unsupervised FSD in my own Tesla in Austin before the year is over.

- How Tesla's geofenced Robotaxi network is the key.

- Creating hyper-realistic simulations of cities like Austin to rapidly train and validate FSD.

- The logical steps from safety-monitored Robotaxis to unmanned Robotaxis, and finally, to unsupervised FSD for personal vehicles in those same proven zones.

- What "unsupervised" will likely mean at first (hint: you'll probably still be in the driver's seat, but without the nags!).

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Dave Lee on Parenting, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWD9b1BZqi2G2u30sGYIFrA

NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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Lots of exciting things happening with Tesla this week. Here's what I cover in my video:

1. Elon Musk's America Party - Risk vs benefit.

2. Robotaxi Race: Waymo vs Tesla - Who will win?

3. Leadership Turnover - Bigger picture.

4. Model Y L for China - Why it's a great move and why I expect another smaller model.

5. xAI Investment - Should Tesla shareholders approve of a Tesla investment in xAI?

6. Bay Area Expansion - Will SF Bay Area get Robotaxi?

7. India Entry - What is Tesla trying to accomplish in India?

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NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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I address the idea of requiring Elon Musk spend a certain number of hours per week on Tesla. I also critique the idea of required the Tesla board to oversee Elon Musk's political activity.

Elon has proven himself over and over to be one of the greatest innovators and value-creators of all time.

Yet some people want the Tesla Board to micromanage his hours and police his outside activity. This would be a terrible mistake.

You don’t babysit Elon. You treat him like an adult and give him performance-based compensation tied to long-term ambitious milestones (like market cap, revenue/profit, etc). And then expect him to knock it out of the park like he’s done with every other performance-based Tesla compensation plan.

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Dave Lee on Parenting, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWD9b1BZqi2G2u30sGYIFrA

NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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I took my wife on three Tesla Robotaxi rides and two Waymo rides in Austin, Texas. I learned a lot from her reaction.

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Dave Lee on Parenting, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWD9b1BZqi2G2u30sGYIFrA

NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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If you're interested in Tesla Robotaxi, Tesla AI or Tesla FSD, then you ought to know about James Douma.

He's probably the one person who's done the deepest public dives on Tesla FSD and Tesla AI over the years.

In fact, over the past 4 years I've published 40+ videos (!) with James Douma on Tesla AI/FSD (they are all on a playlist on my YouTube channel).

I first discovered James Douma a long time ago (maybe almost 8-10 years ago?) on a web forum called http://teslamotorsclub.com . Back then it was one of the only places for early Tesla owners and TSLA investors to discuss issues deeply. While I posted about investing topics, James posted about Tesla Autopilot and its hardware but in a way that was more thorough than anybody else.

When I started posting YouTube videos years later, I invited him on my channel to hear his thoughts on Tesla Autopilot/FSD. It was a riveting discussion and I was surprised at how much I could learn from him.

I invited him again for another interview on my channel, and once again I was floored by how much I was learning. So over the years, James has been a great resource for me (and many others) to keep pulse on what Tesla is doing with FSD and AI (and even robotics).

He doesn't have his own YouTube channel. He doesn't have any paid services or subscriptions. He probably has mixed feelings about so many people knowing about him. But I appreciate his willingness over the years to be available and help the Tesla community by offering his insights and knowledge.

Here's an hour+ discussion on Optimus humanoid robots with James Douma.

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NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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I had the chance to spend the day taking Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas with James Douma. We discuss our experiences riding Tesla's driverless cars and the Robotaxi service, possible expansion, Waymo and competition, and more.

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Dave Lee on Parenting, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWD9b1BZqi2G2u30sGYIFrA

NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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I spend two days with Emmet Peppers in Austin, Texas as we take multiple rides in Tesla's new Robotaxi service.

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NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

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Day 3. Finished 5 Tesla Robotaxi rides, 4 Waymo rides, and 1 Uber ride. (See 39-minute edited video below.)

Uber is in a tough situation. Classic innovators dilemma. Autonomous ride-hailing clearly is the future, but if Uber invites Waymo then that's working against their human drivers which will hurt Uber's recruiting ability (which they need to keep density especially in suburban areas). But if they don't welcome Waymo, then Uber is toast because people want cheaper/autonomous ride-hailing.

Also, if Uber welcomes Waymo and Waymo cars increase then Waymo can just bypass Uber with their own Waymo app.

Uber's only "hope" would be if multiple autonomous driving companies come online soon and Uber becomes the ride-hailing marketplace for them. But I think this is unlikely. Autonomous driving is just a really hard problem to solve, and with data and network effects. I think it's a winner-takes-most market.

We'll see. But the more I take Tesla's Robotaxi, the more I think it's smoother and better than Waymo. And the more I take Waymo, the more I get pessimistic about Uber's long-term future.

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Dave Lee on Parenting, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWD9b1BZqi2G2u30sGYIFrA

NOTE: Please don’t fall for scammers who might impersonate me or others in the comment section. I do NOT give out my number or ask people to contact me.

💁🏻‍♂️ Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as professional financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. All views expressed are personal opinion as of date of recording and are subject to change without responsibility to update views. No guarantee is given regarding the accuracy of information on this channel. Neither host or guests can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Author is long TSLA and other stocks at time of original video publish date.

Check out my archived articles/posts on Tesla and investing: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/articles-megaposts-by-davet.23473/#post-485768

#Tesla #TSLA #Stocks

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