• Tesla discontinued the Model S and Model X this year to focus on autonomy and robotics.
• Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, said, "Never say never" about a comeback.
• There's also a fresh teaser for the long-awaited Roadster.

BTS. The Pussycat Dolls. "Scrubs." It's en vogue these days to make a comeback.

Could Tesla's recently discontinued electric cars — the Model S and Model X — eventually join the trend?

Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, left the door open for the luxury sedan and SUV model revivals in an interview with the "Ride the Lightning" podcast released this weekend.

"It was just like: now is not the right time to keep this one going," he said about the decision to ax the cars. "That doesn't mean it goes away forever. Never say never."

To be clear, Moravy did not say Tesla is actively working on a new Model S or Model X — but he also did not rule it out.

He also offered a fresh reason for the car's discontinuation: global crash-test requirements.

"Every five years or so, Euro NCAP updates their protocols," Moravy said, adding that Tesla wants to make "the safest cars on the road," which requires structural updates.

The platform "was never designed for" some newer crash cases, he said, including small-overlap and offset tests. Tesla had made "band-aids along the way," but he said keeping the vehicles compliant would require "a massive overhaul."

Tesla has previously said the cars were discontinued because of new business goals. During a January earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the automaker was giving the vehicles an "honorable discharge" as it shifted its focus toward autonomous vehicles and robotics.

The final Model S and Model X units rolled off the Fremont, California, production line in mid-May as the plant began transforming into an assembly line for Tesla's Optimus robot.

On the podcast, Moravy said Tesla sold about 750,000 Model S and Model X cars during their lifetime. When asked directly if the Model S and Model X could make a comeback, he said the vehicles "have done a great job for us in what they needed to do."

The podcast also included an update on Tesla's long-awaited second-generation Roadster. Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's chief designer, said the company plans to build the two-door sports car in Texas.

"We've made, you know, first plans on that, and I think you'll see a lot of things start to unfold in the next months," von Holzhausen said.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Honda and Sony axed the Afeela, a tech-heavy electric sedan that was slated for sale in 2026.
• The decision leaves Sony Honda Mobility, their joint venture company, in limbo.
• Analysts say they aren't surprised by the cancellation — but were surprised by how late it came.

The Afeela is dead.

The car — a PlayStation-linked EV developed through Honda's joint venture with Sony — had been positioned as a tech-forward flagship, featuring multiple screens (including on the hood), autonomous driving capabilities, and even a spot to hold a PS5 controller.

Plans to build the $90,000 electric sedan and a future SUV sibling were scrapped on Wednesday.

It's the latest shift in Honda's approach to building EVs in America. Earlier this month, the automaker said it would take a $15.7 billion write-down while canceling several coming EVs, including the Honda 0 Saloon, Honda 0 SUV, and Acura RSX. Honda had already exited a separate EV partnership with General Motors in 2023 and discontinued the Acura ZDX last year.

The decisions leave Honda with one EV in the US market: the Prologue.

Afeela's cancellation stands apart.

Honda and Sony formed an entirely separate company, Sony Honda Mobility, to develop the car. SHM told Business Insider on Wednesday it's continuing "to discuss the path forward with its parent companies on the future of SHM."

The model's cancellation didn't shock industry analysts.

"This aligns with Honda rethinking its EV plans, especially in the US market," Seth Goldstein, a senior equity strategist and EV industry specialist at Morningstar, told Business Insider.

He said Honda is likely shifting toward a more hybrid-heavy lineup while reassessing how to build profitable EVs without relying on government incentives.

While the cancellation itself wasn't surprising, the timing was.

Sony Honda Mobility recently showcased Afeela at CES, heavily promoted it on social media, and added the vehicle to the PlayStation car racing game Gran Turismo 7 in a 2025 update. Moderators for the r/GranTurismo7 subreddit confirmed to Business Insider that the car is still available to drive in the game.

SHM had said it expected to launch the physical car in California by the end of the year.

Pulling the plug on a vehicle so close to launch is "definitely not the industry norm," Adam Bernard, a former director of competitive intelligence at General Motors, told Business Insider.

"A last-minute pull is very unusual," he said.

More broadly, Honda's shift highlights a growing divide in how automakers are approaching the US EV market.

Toyota — long seen as a laggard in fully electric vehicles — has recently accelerated its EV plans, underscoring how differently the longtime rivals are navigating the transition.

Goldstein said Toyota's experience with hybrid systems and battery development may make it easier to adapt its lineup, while Honda now faces a more fundamental reset.

Still, analysts don't see this as the end of Honda's EV ambitions altogether.

"My guess is that they may revisit their plans and perhaps produce something lower in cost toward the end of the decade," Sam Abuelsamid, an auto industry analyst at Telemetry, told Business Insider.

He added that while Afeela was slated for production in Ohio, Honda is likely to repurpose that capacity for other vehicles rather than leave it idle.

What remains unclear is where Sony Honda Mobility fits into Honda's next phase. A Honda spokesperson said the company had "no insight into the announcement," referring questions to the joint venture.

"This decision follows discussions between our parent companies, after taking into account the significant impact of Honda's EV strategy change," SHM told Business Insider.

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