Tesla Gains 2% Premarket Ahead of October 7 Event

TradingKey - Tesla (TSLA.O) shares climbed 2% in premarket trading Monday after the company dropped a cryptic teaser hinting at an October 7 announcement — sending investors and fans into a frenzy of speculation about what Elon Musk might reveal next.

In a short nine-second clip posted on X (formerly Twitter), Tesla showed a pair of glowing headlights cutting through the dark, ending with the date “10/7.” Another video featuring what looked like a spinning wheel or motor part only fueled the buzz — with many guessing it could be the long-awaited affordable EV or perhaps the long-delayed Roadster finally making its comeback.

The teaser comes right after Tesla’s record-breaking third-quarter deliveries, powered by a last-minute surge in U.S. EV purchases before the $7,500 federal tax credit expired on September 30. That said, analysts warn demand could cool off this quarter now that the incentive is gone.

Tesla has been promising a lower-cost Model Y for years — and the wait might finally be over. Back in June, the company said it had completed the “first builds” of the stripped-down version, with sales set to begin later this year. Sources told Reuters the model should be about 20% cheaper to produce than the refreshed Model Y and could scale to roughly 250,000 units a year in the U.S. by 2026.

For investors, a sub-$30,000 Tesla would be a game changer. The company’s growth has slowed amid fierce price competition from Chinese players like BYD, which are flooding global markets with budget-friendly EVs. A more affordable model could help Tesla defend market share while reigniting sales momentum in key markets such as Europe and North America.

Adding to the buzz, Elon Musk confirmed over the weekend that Tesla’s next big software upgrade — Full Self-Driving (FSD) Version 14 — will begin rolling out Monday after a short delay to fix a “last-minute bug.” Musk said the pause gave the team time to “add a few more features.” Only vehicles equipped with Tesla’s latest Hardware 4.0 will get the update for now.

Musk has hyped FSD v14 as a huge leap forward, saying future updates could make the car feel “almost sentient.” While die-hard Tesla fans are sure to rave about it, analysts say it could take weeks before there’s a clear picture of how v14 performs compared to v13, which averaged roughly 230 miles per critical disengagement in city driving, according to community data.

Still, Tesla’s aging product lineup remains a concern. The company hasn’t launched a new mass-market model in years, relying mainly on small updates to the Model 3 and Model Y. Its last big debut, the Cybertruck, has struggled — Tesla built about 46,000 units between its November 2023 launch and early 2024 and has recently been offering discounts to clear inventory.

Wall Street expects Tesla deliveries to climb to around 1.85 million next year, with the cheaper model potentially contributing 150,000-plus units by 2026, according to Visible Alpha estimates.

Whether Tuesday’s announcement brings the long-promised $25,000 Tesla or just another teaser remains to be seen. After all, Musk has made plenty of big promises before.