According to an anonymous source, Tesla (TSLA.O) is planning to manufacture a car priced at 25,000 euros ($26,838) at its factory near Berlin, marking a highly anticipated development for the electric vehicle manufacturer, which is striving to achieve widespread adoption of its vehicles.

The source, who wished to remain unidentified, did not specify when production would commence, as reported by Reuters.

Tesla has chosen not to comment on this matter. As of 0910 GMT, its shares had risen by 3% during pre-market trading in the United States.

One of the factors hindering the adoption of electric vehicles in Europe and the United States, according to consumer surveys, is the high cost of electric cars, exacerbated by elevated interest rates.

In the first half of 2023, the average retail price of an electric vehicle in Europe exceeded 65,000 euros, according to JATO Dynamics, an automotive research firm. In contrast, the average price in China was slightly over 31,000 euros.

Elon Musk had long envisioned creating a more affordable electric car. However, in 2022, he revealed that the necessary technology had not yet been perfected and put the project on hold.

Nonetheless, sources informed Reuters in September that the company was making progress on an innovation that would enable them to cast nearly the entire underbody of the electric vehicle in a single piece. This breakthrough would streamline production and reduce costs.

Expanding into the mass market is crucial to Tesla's goal of delivering 20 million vehicles by 2030, differentiating it from competitors like Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), which have avoided setting specific delivery targets and instead focused on safeguarding profit margins during the transition to electric vehicles.