For nearly a decade, it has been the holy grail for Tesla fans and the key to its mainstream future: a truly affordable electric car for the masses. After years of promises, delays, and speculation, the company confirmed on Wednesday that the long-awaited cheaper Tesla is finally moving from myth to reality.

Tesla has said it will build cheaper cars and win approval for its self-driving software in Europe this year after seeing sales fall at the sharpest rate in at least a decade. Elon Musk's electric car firm told investors it had started "first builds of a more affordable model in June" while posting a slump in car deliveries and shrinking profits.

Elon Musk finally admitted that Tesla’s long-promised, more affordable EV is just a stripped-down Model Y. Unsurprisingly, Verge readers had some thoughts. In an earnings call Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk “let the cat out of the bag”: The new,

The stock price of Tesla dropped sharply Thursday, declining about 8% in morning trading. It is now down more than 36% from its December high. Revenue was $22.5 billion for the three months ending June 30, down 12% from a year ago, while earnings were 40 cents per share, down 23% from a year ago.

Tesla reported second-quarter results after Wednesday's closing bell, unveiling profits and sales in line with Wall Street expectations. Losses mounted for the stock, however, as the company's call with analysts sowed more doubts than offered answers about Tesla's prospects and Chief Executive Elon Musk said he could see potential for "a few rough quarters" ahead.

Tesla stock fell early Thursday following the company’s relatively bland second-quarter earnings report. Investors wanted to hear more new details about more topics, including Tesla’s ambition to become a leader in robo-taxis,

The fallout from Elon Musk’s plunge into politics a year ago is still hammering his Tesla business as both sales and profits fell sharply again in the latest quarter.

Gordon Johnson, CEO and founder of data firm GLJ Research, who is bearish on Tesla, said the boost in revenue from government credits afforded the company a financial lifeline eve