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Tesla rolled out “affordable” versions of its best-selling Model Y SUV and its Model 3 sedan, but the starting prices of $39,990 and $36,990 struck some as too high to attract a new class of buyers to the electric vehicle brand. Tesla’s stock fell 4% and Tesla bull Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said he was disappointed that the cars were only about $5,000 cheaper than the next trims of the models. The new versions, called Standard, cost more than what the previous models started at, including a $7,500 tax credit that expired at the end of September. The much-awaited unveiling is crucial for Tesla as it pushes to reverse falling sales and waning market share amid rising competition in Europe and China, and the loss of the U.S. tax credit. Model Y Standard [Image: Tesla] CEO Elon Musk has for years promised mass-market vehicles, though last year he canceled plans for an all-new $25,000 EV, Reuters first reported. Instead, he chose to build lower-priced versions based on Tesla’s current models, sparking concerns among investors and analysts that the cheaper cars would cannibalize sales of existing vehicles and limit growth. “It’s basically a pricing lever and not much of a product catalyst,” said Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at research firm Futurum Equities. “I don’t see it as unlocking new demand at scale.” Both Standard versions offer 321 miles (516 km) of range and less powerful acceleration than the current higher trims called Premium. They can be ordered immediately, with deliveries set to start between December 2025 and January 2026 for many locations, Tesla’s website showed. Model 3 Standard [Image: Tesla] The Standard versions do not come with Autosteer, Tesla’s driver assistance system, or touchscreens for rear passengers. Tesla has also removed the LED lightbar in the cheaper Model Y. Both come with textile seats, with vegan leather available for the Model 3, and manually adjusted side-view mirrors. Late last year, Musk said the vehicle would be priced below the “key threshold” of $30,000 including U.S. EV tax credits. In the United States, prices effectively rose by $7,500 at the end of last month, when the credit ended. Quarterly sales rose to a record as consumers rushed to take advantage of the credit while they could, but expectations are that they will slow down for the rest of the year, unless the affordable car comes to the rescue. “The desire to buy the car is very high. (It’s) just (that) people don’t have enough money in the bank account to buy it,” Musk said in July during Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call. “So the more affordable we can make the car, the better.” Tesla had posted two clips on X over the weekend, igniting excitement among fans. One video shows headlights peering out of the dark and another shows what looks like a wheel spinning for a few seconds, followed by “10/7” the U.S. format for the date October 7. Crucial to $1 trillion pay plan Musk initially promised that production of the vehicle would start by the end of June. But Tesla only made what it called “first builds” of the car, it said in July, adding that it would be available for customers sometime in the last three months of the year. Tesla has already been grappling with slowing sales of its aging lineup as competition has grown rapidly, especially in China and Europe, where Musk’s far-right political views have also undermined brand loyalty. Earlier this year, Tesla launched a refreshed version of the Model Y with improvements including new light bars and a rear touchscreen. Musk has been pivoting the company toward artificial intelligence, focusing on robotaxis and humanoid robots. Tesla has said it will launch more affordable vehicles in its lineup but has not provided details. Affordable cars will also be key to Tesla delivering 20 million vehicles over the next decade – one of the several operational and valuation milestones set by the company’s board as part of its proposed $1 trillion pay package for Musk. (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Akash Sriram and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson, Richard Chang, Sriraj Kalluvila and Alan Barona)
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E-Commerce
The U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert on Monday for FreshRealm’s ready-to-eat meals shipped directly to consumers by HelloFreshdue to possible contamination from listeria. HelloFresh is a German-based meal-kit company operating in the United States and globally in Europe, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. FreshRealm notified FSIS that the spinach used in the products tested positive for listeria bacteria. So far, no illnesses have been reported. However, FSIS said it expected additional products will be affected, and asked consumers to check this public health alert frequently as the agency will update it when more information becomes available. Last month, FreshRealm said tests confirmed that pasta used in linguine dishes sold at Walmart contained the same strain of listeria linked to a deadly outbreak in June, originally tied to chicken fettucine alfredo, that killed at least four people and sickened 20, the Associated Press noted. Here’s what to know about this week’s alert. What is listeria, and what are the symptoms of infection? According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Listeria monocytogenes is a type of disease-causing bacteria that is generally transmitted when food is harvested, processed, prepared, packed, transported, or stored in manufacturing or production environments contaminated with the bacteria. Infection can lead to severe symptoms, such as abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and diarrhea, and poses a particular risk to vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. What is the product information for the alert? Here are the details of the products mentioned in the alert: Product Name: HELLO FRESH READY MADE MEALS CHEESY PULLED PORK PEPPER PASTA Establishment number and lot codes: Est. 47718 and lot code 49107, or Est. 2937, and lot code 48840 Package size and type: 10.1-oz. containers Product Name: HELLO FRESH READY MADE MEALS UNSTUFFED PEPPERS WITH GROUND TURKEY Establishment number and lot codes: Establishment number P-47718 and lot codes 50069, 50073, or 50698 Package size and type: 10-oz. containers What if I have these products in my refrigerator or freezer? Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. Instead, these products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase. Consumers with questions may contact FreshRealms customer service hotline at 1-888-244-1562 or customerservice@freshrealm.com.
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E-Commerce
The New York Stock Exchange’s parent company, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), said on Tuesday it will invest up to $2 billion into the crypto-based betting platform Polymarket. The move marries the more traditional, regulated NYSE with the riskier prediction markets, and is generally seen as a move by the iconic 233-year-old exchange to keep up with its competitors by capitalizing on the growing popularity of betting on all kinds of things. “Our partnership with ICE marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream,” Shayne Coplan, CEO of Polymarket, told Fast Company. Together, were expanding how individuals and institutions use probabilities to understand and price the future. . . . Realizing the potential of new technologies, such as tokenization, will require collaboration between established market leaders and next-generation innovators.” Launched in 2020, Polymarket allows users to bet on the outcome of real-world events, including hot topics such as political elections, sporting events, weather patterns, awards (this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner), predictions in the finance market (“Will Bitcoin hit above $120,000 today?”), and random pop-culture questions (“What will be the highest-grossing movie in 2025?“). A look at the platform on Tuesday shows some of the biggest bets going were around questions like: “When will the government shutdown end?” (68% said October 15 or later); “Who will win the New York City Mayoral Election?” (Zohran Mamdani at 89%, Andrew Cuomo at 10%); and “Who is going to be the World Series Champion 2025?” (so far, the Los Angeles Dodgers are edging out the Toronto Blue Jays, 36% to 19%). And those predictions, while seemingly fun, are big businessvalued at roughly $8 billion, according to a statement from Intercontinental Exchange to Bloomberg, which also noted that ICE will distribute Polymarkets event-driven data and has also agreed to partner on future tokenization initiatives. The ICE investment also provides good optics for the betting platform, which is trying to boost its credibility and reestablish its presence in the United States following a probe by the Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which was dropped back in July. The Justice Department had been investigating whether Polymarket allowed U.S. users onto the site when they were banned from doing so.
Category:
E-Commerce
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