Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm dropped a bombshell on CNBC, confirming that Tesla is, in fact, producing new vehicles, and that they are on the company’s roadmap. This comes just weeks after Tesla launched the Model 3 and Model Y Standard Range, as it tries to make its vehicles more affordable.
Since there is still no news of Tesla addressing the compact market, there’s a lot of debate over what this mention could mean. Is this the long-awaited arrival of the Tesla Roadster? Is this the Tesla Compact? Or is it a nod toward next year's production of the Cybercab and Tesla Semi?
BREAKING: $TSLA BOARD CHAIR ROBYN SAYS — “WE HAVE NEW VEHICLES COMING OUT” 👀
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) October 27, 2025
It’s happening ! pic.twitter.com/f8UuZWGLuP
The Affordable Pivot
The freshly launched Model 3 and Model Y Standard variants, starting at $36,990 and $39,990, respectively, have made some strides toward affordability by stripping features to target the lower end of the market.
However, these vehicles didn’t hit Tesla’s laudable goal of a $25,000 EV. Instead, they’re far more expensive, with vehicles like the Bolt staying the winner in the compact EV category. However, they do provide buyers a way to get into a Tesla much cheaper than they otherwise could, and bring most of the key features that make a Tesla so unique, just without some of the premium frills and trimmings.
So, let’s break down what we could see, starting from the most audacious to the least likely.
A Compact Model
There are a few major markets that Tesla has not addressed with its line-up to date, and one of the largest is the compact-car market. These more affordable, city-oriented vehicles are highly popular in urban centers, especially for their ability to park in tight spaces and not take up as much room. This also means they’re exceptionally popular in Europe, where tight streets and little parking define many major cities.
Tesla has previously considered a Compact, which would be the true affordable Model—built from the ground up on a smaller chassis with a smaller pack, without any of the sacrifices made to make the Model 3 and Model Y Standard variants.
This could be the future vehicle many are waiting for—built on the same platform as the Cybercab and taking advantage of the unboxed assembly process.
The Large Choice
At the opposite end of the spectrum is another market Tesla has struggled to address with its 7-seat variants of the Model Y and Model X: the large, luxury SUV market.
We recently saw the CyberSUV as a sneak peek in the Tesla Design Studio back in September. However, the Design Studio iterates through thousands of ideas, and the vast majority don’t see the light of day.
This idea was reignited later in September by an interview with Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer. He mentioned that Tesla is looking into many things, and this could be one of them.
The Car to Kill Driving
Most recently, Franz also confirmed that the Roadster would be getting revealed this year, making this one of the most likely options Robyn Denholm was alluding to. The new Tesla Roadster will be the last great driver’s car — the car that prioritizes the driver ahead of the upcoming push toward autonomy.
Autonomy Steals the Wheel
The comments could also point to the vehicles truly tied to Tesla’s future ambitions: the Cybercab and the oft-forgotten Robovan. Tesla is beginning Cybercab production in 2026 and has already started hiring manufacturing line engineers to build these vehicles.
The sleek, fully autonomous 2-seater Robotaxi is another upcoming vehicle we already know about for sure, so this item also has a lot of potential.
Looking Beyond Consumer Vehicles
Tesla is also ramping up the Semi factory to begin producing Tesla Semis for customers, beginning in early 2026. Its design has slowly and fully matured through testing with many interested partner organizations.
Tesla is also building production lines for Optimus, the humanoid robot. While not really a vehicle, it is an upcoming product and the primary product for Tesla’s sustainable abundance mission.
Tesla is a manufacturing juggernaut, and has very effectively concealed what happens behind the doors of their engineering and design studios, so it wouldn’t be surprising for a reveal to be around the corner at the November 6th, 2025 Shareholder Meeting.
