I think Musk put out a tweet saying the story was not true. But not sure if it was a total denial or if he said production would continue as planned.
Tesla still delivers well over 100,000 cars a month, but is off its peak and below estimates. I think they need a less expensive option just to keep top line numbers up, and particularly to compete with Chinese made EVs. Those are not yet available in the US but are sold in other markets. Musk has warned those cars could be damaging to all US automakers if there is no tariff on them.
Maybe he is using this threat as some kind of leverage given the new mandates. The auto makers will have a tough time meeting them as is and imported EVs for under $20k will move most of the market there. Especially with the mandates.
The only thing that previously kept Chinese cars from American markets was the fact that they could not pass the pollution control tests.
With EVs, that obstacle is no longer relevant............