A video of what is alleged to be a new Tesla people-mover for the Boring Company has leaked. It could be the real deal.
A Tesla electric van, minibus, or people-mover has been in the works for a long time.
In the “Tesla Master Plan Part 2,” CEO Elon Musk talked about two new segments Tesla is looking to electrify:
In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.
That was back in 2016.
The automaker did end up unveiling the Tesla Semi, the “heavy-duty truck,” shortly after, and – after years of delays – it eventually brought the vehicle to production last year.
Musk has talked about Tesla making an electric minibus based on the Model X before, but it didn’t come to fruition. It is the only vehicle in the product roadmap that Tesla never delivered or unveiled.
There were talks about Tesla making a van-like passenger vehicle for Musk’s Boring Company. The tunnel boring company currently operates its “Loop” under Las Vegas with existing Tesla vehicles, like Model X and Model Y, but there have been several mentions of Tesla potentially building a 12-passenger vehicle for the Loop.
The Boring Company previously released this render to visualize the vehicle:
Recently, there have been rumors that Tesla has been building a prototype for the Boring Company.
Top comment by Chris Boyd
You know subway cars run on electricity too. Is it more efficient to charge batteries on a regular basis vs. a constantly energized subway system? I don't know, but the idea that this is some great innovation is not accurate.
Now, a video alleging to be of this new Tesla prototype was posted by Las Vegas content creator Jacob Orth:
We can’t confirm the video’s authenticity, but it does look similar to the render concept – albeit appearing to be a very early-stage prototype.
One notable detail is that it features a Tesla steering wheel:
Again, if it is the real deal, it appears to be in the very early stages of prototyping. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
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