@theologyandfishing There aren't enough comparably priced ICE cars for Tesla to sell 12M, that's the thing. The global luxury car market is only like 7M cars right now, I don't think it'll be 12M in 5 years even if Tesla took 100% market share.
Also, 25k corolla? The corolla is $21k. Most personal vehicles period are under 30k. I'm just using sedans as an example. The Model Y is still significantly more than the Nissan Rogue, Rav4, CRV, etc.
Even if they drop the (Model 3 I'm assuming?) to 33k, that's still 7k more than even Accords and Camrys, which is barely any savings using the numbers I posted.
I know they've claimed they are trying to make a 25k car, but I seriously doubt it unless they strip all the selling points of getting a Tesla. They also don't have the interest from Japan and SK where those tiny vehicles are popular. Americans aren't driving those, I'll tell you that.
There could probably be an argument made for demand of a $35k EV being equivalent to a $25k car too. No one thought iPhones would sell at $700 compared to the $200 flip phone, but people just found a way to buy them anyway. This remains to be seen (or have we already seen this.. ?)
I think you might be misremembering the past. The Motorola Razr was at least $500 in 2004
https://www.pcmag.com/news/a-visual-history-of-the-motorola-razr
I don't recall Apple ever being doubted for charging $700 for an iPhone. I remember backlash when the price went to $1000+, but not doubt.
It's not a good comparison. People literally cannot afford $45,000 cars. Even $35,000 is a stretch. People can afford to put a $1000 Phone on a payment plan.