The affordable Tesla is real this time, company executives said on Tuesday. Credit: Tesla Tesla has been teasing an affordable vehicle for a long time. But now, Tesla has put a stake in the ground, saying June is the start of production. The idea for a $25,000 Tesla was first mentioned in 2018 by CEO Elon Musk. He said at that time it’s “something we can do in three years." Then he pushed the timeline out at Tesla’s Battery Day event in September of 2020, when he announced plans for a $25,000 electric vehicle that would be “fully autonomous” and doable within three years. Anyway, you get the idea. A more affordable model has always been a few years away. Mark you calendar: ‘cheaper models’ in June Now cheaper Teslas appear to be only a couple of months away. “We’re still focused on bringing cheaper models to market soon,” said Tesla chief financial officer Vaibhav Taneja during the first quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday. “The start of production is still planned for June,” he said. But Taneja also seemed to be trying to manage expectations. "There’s always limitations when you’re using existing lines as to how many different form factors [we can do].” Sounds like a derivative of the Model Y or Model 3 The upshot: don’t expect a radically new design. “The models that come out in the next months will be built on our lines and will resemble in form and shape the cars we currently make,” said Lars Moravy, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering during the earnings call on Tuesday. “The key is that they’ll be affordable and you’ll be able to buy one,” he said. But Moravy was cautious too. “As with all launches, we’re working through like the last-minute issues that pop up,” he said. "We’re knocking them down one by one. At this point, I would say that ramp maybe -- might be a little slower than we had hoped initially," he said. MORE FOR YOU