Let's be honest: if any car company operating in America could produce a truly compelling, high-spec electric vehicle for well under $30,000, it's Tesla.

Yet a "more affordable Tesla" is turning into the electric vehicle world's version of Grand Theft Auto VI, minus any real teasers and trailers so far. What a cheaper Tesla could even be—a new, smaller model, or perhaps even a de-contented version of an existing car—has been a total mystery.

That may be changing soon, however. On this week's second-quarter Tesla earnings call, CEO Elon Musk finally gave us a hint of what to expect. "It's just a Model Y," he said. Let that sink in.  

Or could it be more than that? On this week's Plugged-In Podcast, my co-host Tim Levin and I discuss what could lift Tesla's fortunes after a not-so-great first half marked by slowing sales and a real downturn in how the brand is perceived.

Ultimately, the big story of this year so far is probably "Tesla down, General Motors up." The General's many brands seem to be picking up current, former and prospective Tesla owners across the board, and drawing in a lot of EV newcomers as well. Chevrolet is now America's no. 2 EV brand behind Tesla, and the Cadillac Lyriq and Optiq in particular are big hits for GM's luxury division. 

In fact, we'd go so far as to say that EVs are the best thing Cadillac has done since its cars had tailfins. Iconic as it is, the luxury carmaker has had a rough couple of decades, with much of its market share getting eaten by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and the rest. But now, it does look like Cadillac is on the path to becoming the sort of all-electric luxury brand that other automakers are now waffling on.

I say good on Cadillac for pulling that off, but we'll see how all of GM's brands do when the EV tax credits expire on Sept. 30.